Proposals are evaluated based on feasibility, potential for societal impact, potential for follow-on funding, alignment with the CITRIS mission and inclusion of pretenured faculty.
Aviation
AIC Award recipient using AI and drones to detect wildfires earlier
Zhaodan Kong is developing FireFly with support from a 2025 CITRIS-CDSS Innovation Fellowship and AIC Award.
Zhaodan Kong named associate director of CITRIS at UC Davis
Kong’s relationship with CITRIS dates back to his first few months at UC Davis, when he met with former campus director Bahram Ravani.
Student teams advance to shape California Airlink in CITRIS Aviation Prize competition
Six student teams will progress to the second phase of the 2025–26 CITRIS Aviation Prize competition.
Bridging a ‘crucial gap’: CITRIS internship program ends on a high note
More than a hundred UC students in the fourth and final cohort developed valuable skills in high-demand industries.
2025 UC Santa Cruz I2P Awards to advance interdisciplinary faculty research
The UC Santa Cruz Interdisciplinary Innovation Program announced funding awards for three faculty research projects.
Cihang Xie
Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, UC Santa Cruz
UC Santa Cruz
Aviation
Maria Laura Delle Monache
Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley
Aviation
Negar Mehr
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley
Aviation
Koushil Sreenath
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley
Aviation
Jasenka Rakas
Continuing Lecturer of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley
Aviation
Giuseppe Loianno
Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley
Aviation
Christina Harvey
Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, UC Davis
UC Davis
Aviation
Mark Hansen
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley
Aviation
Iryna Dronova
Associate Professor of Environmental Science, Policy & Management and of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning, UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley
Aviation
Alvaro A. Cardenas
Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, UC Santa Cruz
UC Santa Cruz
Aviation
CITRIS senior advisor to lead Berkeley Space Center
Victoria Coleman, former chief scientist for the U.S. Air Force, will succeed CITRIS’s Alexandre Bayen as associate provost for the Berkeley Space Center.
BioSCape project receives NASA award
Co-led by CITRIS’s Erin Hestir, the team received a 2024–25 NASA Group Achievement Award.
CITRIS Aviation to help launch Central Coast air mobility test ecosystem
CITRIS and the Banatao Institute will support the state’s first FAA-compliant ecosystem for clean-energy drones and advanced aerospace vehicles.
Nearly $3M expands drone workforce development work statewide
Thanks to nearly $3 million in new grant funding, the CITRIS Initiative for Drone Education and Research (CIDER) at UC Santa Cruz is launching a […]
CITRIS Aviation Prize welcomes proposals from UC students
The 2025–26 CITRIS Aviation Prize brings together students, researchers and professionals from diverse backgrounds to design critical aviation simulations and subsystems, integrating air transit into […]
From concept to cockpit: CITRIS Aviation Prize winners in action
Designing the future of flight at UC! Competitors built confidence, skills and networks — and brought home more than $15,000 in awards.
CITRIS Seed Awards fund 4 multicampus projects for public good
Teams will receive up to $60,000 to propel their research into full-fledged solutions to some of society’s most pressing challenges.
AIAA highlights wildfire-sensing drone project
CITRIS PI Zhaodan Kong is working to minimize the time between the spark of a wildfire and its detection and suppression.