The Tech Development Track funds early-stage technology research, hardware, software, web or mobile application development that address issues in Health, Robotics, Connected Communities, and Sustainable Infrastructures.
The Events & Programming Track funds student-led activities that increase awareness, skills, and relationships related to technology for social good. In addition, this track supports student efforts to foster diversity and inclusion in tech fields.
2019 Funded Projects & Events
Tech Development Track
An App to Increase Women’s Belonging in STEM
In order to increase women’s belonging in STEM, this app serves as a platform for students to create opportunities to form meaningful communities and meetups, and to find mentors based on common interests. The app collects data on attitudes towards STEM majors and careers, retention rates, and efficacy for success in STEM.
Team
- Eric Harrison, Undergrad, Computer Science
- Megan West, Undergrad, English & Sociology
- Nathandis Wyley, Undergrad, Electrical Engineering
- Susanna Zheng, Undergrad, Psychology
Hyperloop Pod
The Hyperloop Pod Design Team at UC Davis is a student team dedicated to realizing the Hyperloop-a new mode of transportation based on pods moving at transonic speeds in a global network of vacuum tubes. Working towards this goal, we are competing in the annual SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition with the purpose of building a half scale, functional pod to race in SpaceX’s vacuum tube.
To view the team list please click here.
Medical Supply Delivery Drone
According to the World Health Organization, around 400 million individuals do not have access to essential health services. Part of this is because of the difficulty in delivering medical equipment in remote areas lacking proper infrastructure. The goal of this project is to build a drone that can deliver one kilogram worth of medical equipment such as medicine and first aid to remote areas.
Team
- Sebastian Coronel, Undergrad, Mechanical Engineering
- Trevor Metz, Undergrad, Mechanical Engineering
- Yashdeep Sidana, Undergrad, Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering
- Reiko Yoshizawa, Undergrad, Mechanical Engineering
SmartCAN
To change an existing stigma around throwing away recyclables — an act thought of as time consuming, expensive, and stressful — SmartCAN categorizes trash and recyclable items and sorts them into their respective container.
Team
- Tayah Kirschenmann, Undergrad, English
- Tara Soudbakhsh, Undergrad, Mechanical Engineering
Events & Programming Track
HackDavis
HackDavis is UC Davis’ annual hackathon for students, run by students to address the world’s most pressing social issues.
2018 Funded Projects & Events
Tech Development Track
Abrázame
The Android-based, mobile phone application Abrázame will document domestic violence events by allowing users to safely share social support messages, receive personalized recommendations, and memorialize their stories in English or Spanish (first release). Users will also have access to a map that marks resources for help. Abrázame will give a voice to victims and survivors of domestic violence and their allies.
Team
- Alejandra Amparo, Undergrad, Managerial Economics
- Ke Huang, Graduate, Communication
- Kimmiko James, Undergrad, Computer Science
- Jeffrey Warner, Undergrad, Computer Science
- Sagar Gupta, Undergrad Computer Science
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Freedge & the Freedge-Checker
Freedge promotes the installation of community fridges that encourage food sharing and reduce food waste. The Freedge-Checker is an automated monitoring system with sensors and cameras that will help users and cleaning volunteers track the food in each Freedge, also building an inventory of all incoming items.
Team
- Ernst Bertone Oehninger, Graduate, Ecology
- Alexandra Estvan Hill, Graduate, Agricultural and Resource Economics
- Madeline Chen, Undergrad, Computer Science and Mathematics
- Vega Sood, Undergrad, Computer and Electrical Engineering
- Dat Nguyen, Undergrad, Computer Science
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Hyperloop Pod
The Hyperloop Pod Design Team at UC Davis is a student team dedicated to realizing the Hyperloop-a new mode of transportation based on pods moving at transonic speeds in a global network of vacuum tubes. Working towards this goal, we are competing in the annual SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition with the purpose of building a half scale, functional pod to race in SpaceX’s vacuum tube.
To view the team list please click here.
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Machine Learning for Cancer Classification
Machine Learning for Cancer Classification is a machine learning algorithm with a web-interface that allows pathologists to easily upload and classify images of histopathological slides. The algorithm uses visual cues to distinguish both the presence and type of cancer. This application of machine learning technology greatly optimizes the workflow of pathologists, allowing them to spend more time with patients and less time on diagnostic procedures.
Team
- Grayson Cox, Undergraduate, Computer Science
- Orli Feuchtwang, Undergraduate, Computer Science
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Stochastic Simulations for Global Food Security
Scientists who work on developing higher yielding and drought tolerant crops are often slowed down by the cost and time to run complete field trials. This team is developing an open-source R package implemented in C++ that runs quantitative simulations on whole genome data to speed up the process of developing new crop varieties.
Team
- Aleksandra Taranov, Graduate, Biostatistics and International Agricultural Development
- Abhay Manu Sawhney, Undergraduate, Computer Science
Events & Programming Track
HackDavis
HackDavis is UC Davis’ annual hackathon for students, run by students to address the world’s most pressing social issues.
2017 Funded Projects
Tech Development Track
One Loop
OneLoop is a diverse, multidisciplinary group of engineers working to design and build a functional, half-scale model of a Hyperloop pod to race in SpaceX’s Hyperloop Pod Competition.
Aron Sarmasi, Kilian Ginnell, Anand Sagan Kannan, Bruno Mosquera Matsui, Carlos Urdampilleta, Alysia Iglesias, Gabriel Lee, Dongmeng Li, Austin Gonzalez, Jonas Langlois, Scott Paniccia, & Eden Tessema
The On-Farm Climate Resilience
Relevant, accessible, and effective climate change information can help small-scale farmers better plan for and respond to climate change effects. The On-Farm Climate Resilience Toolkit will enable farmers to utilize online learning networks, on-farm data collection, and participatory mapping to learn and share long-term climatic risk management strategies.
Natalia Pinzón Jiménez, Sara Riegler, Nicholas Robinson, & Cameron Willment
Together We CAN
Together We CAN teaches food preservation methods for pineapples, a crop with large post-harvest losses in the Mwogo sector, Bugesera district, of Rwanda. Teaching these skills to Rwandan pineapple farming community members can increase local food source availability and socio-economic development.
Seraphin Niyonsenga, Sherry Blunk, & Brittany Allison
SER (Saúde-Health, Educação – Education, Renda-Income)
SER empowers smallholder farmers to improve their quality of life, while simultaneously enabling collective social action to alleviate poverty through the development of a vocational center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil that supports the development of hydroponic farming.
Karishma Sethi & Jesse Foster
Mi Vida Saludable
Mi Vida Saludable is a web-based platform to streamline data collection for mental health parameters at Clinica Tepati in Sacramento, California.
Sriya Maram, Angelika Joseph, Cristian Lopez, & Debparna Pratiher
Water Filtration Systems for Floating Villages in Cambodia
For those living in the floating villages on the Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia, potable water is difficult to obtain. This team will develop and pilot test a low-cost biosand water filtration system that will convert contaminated lake water into clean water for household use.
Samira Iqbal, Meysel Amaya, Jessica Shaw, & Purva Juvekar
Events & Programming Track
HackDavis
HackDavis is UC Davis’ annual hackathon for students, run by students to address the world’s most pressing social issues.
Project Link
Project Link is a cross-cultural communication platform that combines video-chats and social media to foster engagement between UC Davis students and students at partner universities abroad to discuss global issues.
Maria Arteaga, Alexander Duveneck, & Bridgette Johnson
2016 Funded Projects
Tech Development
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Building BAB Christian Doll, Ty Beal, Sophie Ellerby, and Prof. James Smith Building BAB is an innovative mobile money transfer service that enables financial inclusion and youth entrepreneurship in rural regions throughout South Sudan.
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Anna Sadovnikova, Anita Gunaseelan, Angela Nguyen, and Dr. Shadi Aminololama-Shakeri MomKit addresses common breastfeeding problems through customized multimedia tailored to nursing mothers’ body types. |
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#OurChangingClimate
Prof. Nina Napawan, Prof. Brett Snyder, Prof. Sheryl-Ann Simpson, and Diego Verduzco #OurChangingClimate provides a community-focused social media platform for observing, sharing, and critiquing everyday experiences with human environmental impact and climate change. |
| Photovoltaic powered UV-based water purification system for refugee resettlement in Northern California
Shiyun Yao, Jillian Holloway, Vanessa Wai, Xijia Li, and Prof. Bassam Younis Project UV-Water provides water disinfection and treatment technology to Nepali refugees building sustainable farming communities in Sacramento. |
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| Quadriplegic-Friendly Tricycle
Aaron Shaw, Vivian Lin, Andy Wu, and Dr. Jason Moore The Quad-Trike is an innovative modified road biking system customized for quadriplegics. |
Student-Led Events
The Tech for Social Good Program funds UC Davis individual students, student organizations or student groups to develop events or programming that improve and support technological innovation in the following categories: Health, People & Robots, Connected Communities, Sustainable Infrastructure, Diversity and Inclusion in Tech.
Example funded events include:
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HackDavis is UC Davis’ annual hackathon for students, run by students to address the world’s most pressing social issues. |
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