• Silicon Valley Business Journal Santa Cruz insert: A Vibrant Hub of Tech Innovation [PDF]
  "From established global tech companies and new startups, to cutting-edge research and development at UC Santa Cruz, to community programs that engage entrepreneurs and foster business development, Santa Cruz is a thriving hub of talent, innovation, and opportunity for growth." Bonnie Lipscomb, Executive Director, Economic Development Department, City of Santa Cruz. Vew web version here. 

   Further reading:

• UCSC grad students launch biotech start-up in Santa Cruz 
• UCSC researchers using big data to predict cancer outcomes 
• Tech Initiatives - bringing people and ideas together  
• Santa Cruz: generations of innovation 
• Emerging Tech Initiative: grow your tech business in Santa Cruz 
• UCSC engineering students collaborate with Silicon Valley giants 
• UCSC developing solutions to data storage dilemmas 
• Plantronics - a global enterprise built in Santa Cruz 
• Looker Data Sciences, Inc. -- changing the face of Business Intelligence 
• FileOpen Systems - leaders in DRM innovation 
      

• Emerging Tech Initiative: Win free office space for one year at NextSpace or Cruzioworks

  "The City of Santa Cruz Economic Development is looking for entrepreneurs whose vision for innovation matches the spirit of Santa Cruz.
  The perfect fit will win free office space for one year at NextSpace or Cruzioworks. Eligible emerging tech companies must be investment funded, currently located outside of Santa Cruz County, and employ 2 - 5 people." Applications for the Emerging Tech Initiative will be accepted in November and December. Up to four emerging tech companies will be selected by an Advisory Group in January. Contact the Department of Economic Development at (831) 420-5150.

• "Top of The Ritt" UCSC Ed Talks, attended by UC president Janet Napolitano

  "Former head of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano sat in the front row for presentations by renowned human genome scientist David Haussler; Terrie Williams, a director at Long Marine Lab; and history professor Alan Christy." Napolitano was visiting UCSC as part of her new job as president of the 10-campus UC system. .. her tour of UCSC on Thursday included a stop at the Grateful Dead archives.

• Baskin School of Engineering Research Review Day highlights data, medicine, mobile computing
  This annual showcase event brings faculty, students, industry, and community together to hear about cutting edge research at Baskin School. "Peter Skomoroch, former LinkedIn principal data scientist, gave one of three keynote talks. He showed how LinkedIn uses data from member profiles to infer member's strengths and weaknesses. He cautioned the audience not to entirely trust hard data analysis, and to use reason and intuition. 'Intuition is built up through common everyday experience,' said Skomoroch.

• A day in the life: Promoting the Santa Cruz Tech Culture
  "Whew. October 17, 2013, was rich with tech ecosystem community activities in Santa Cruz, CA!" Local web consultant & project manager, and Santa Cruz Tech Beat curator, producer, editor, Sara Isenberg, blogs about this particularly active day in the local tech scene.

• New service, AppAftercare, helps SMB's track, optimize, and monitor their iOS apps
  Local developer, Einar Vollset, launches AppAftercare: "What happens after your app is launched? You've got downloads, and a new sales/marketing tool working for you, and you're busy...but ignoring it is not prudent. You understand the value of optimizing your website; you should also be optimizing your app."  

• Good Lookers Unite!
  "We had our first official customer meetup ... in San Francisco. With more than 50 attendees from 20+ companies, I was humbled to hear how much value we're helping teams extract out of their data. It was great to be able to sit back and watch three "Look & Tell" presentations by our customers, each using Looker in unique new ways." Frank Bien, Looker CEO

• Jabico announces $50K contest to promote new startup application for Learning Disabled Children
  Hoku Story (http://www.hokustory.com) is an innovative tool that allows users to read and author stories using simple tools within an online system. The Story Share $50K Writing Contest (http://www.storysharecontest.com and https://www.facebook.com/StoryShare50KContest ) was created to encourage a love of reading in teen and young adult beginning readers by creating and distributing more high quality stories and content at an accessible level. 

• Santa Cruz Children's Museum of Discovery planning adult science night of fun, Fri Nov 1, 6-9pm
  "A Science Night for Adults: Get a behind-the-scenes look at what some busy exhibition planners have been up to at the Santa Cruz Children's Museum of Discovery (MOD), an emerging children's museum. Munch on sumptuous appetizers and mix your own cocktail at our Muddling Bar. Sumo wrestle with LEGO NXT robots, make mini rockets, fly remote control helicopters around the room and join in on countless engaging science activities that will make you feel like a curious kid again. In other words, come play with us! Adults only this time."

• UC Santa Cruz astrophysicist lands lucrative prize for young professors
  "Charlie Conroy won the prestigious Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering. The $875,000 award is one of the most celebrated prizes in the country for young professors. The award will support Conroy's current research into the birth of stars and how they created the elements in the periodic table."

• The MAH presents Journey Forth, the intersection of nature and technology
  A current contemporary art exhibition called Journey Forth, focuses on the intersection of nature and technology. "The diverse work portrays the tension between the intricate wilderness of nature and the mass production of contemporary life. Explore delicate dioramas, Google Earth anomalies, and powerful images, sculptures, and collages as you journey forth into the uncertain future of art, landscape, and technology."

• Supporting technical education: ETR, Watsonville TEC
  "For the last ten years, our Youth and Technology staff have bridged research and practice with the goal of increasing the number of women, Latino(a)s, and youth from rural communities in computing fields. We build collaborations with school, community, and university-based partners to increase the relevance, rigor, and sustainability of our research and our programs." Get involved here. 

• 2nd Event Santa Cruz reveals secrets of business success (and more)
  Cliff Hodges talked about earning two electrical engineering degrees at MIT and at age 23 quitting a high-paying job in Silicon Valley because he didn't enjoy the work. "I had this voice that said I had to love what I did," he said. "I just don't love flash memory, I just don't love hard drives."

• UCSC scientists applaud Nobel Prize for Higgs discovery

  "The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences today awarded the Nobel Prize in physics to theorists Peter Higgs and Francois Englert to recognize their work developing the theory of what is now known as the Higgs field, which gives elementary particles mass. U.S. scientists, including physicists at UC Santa Cruz, played a significant role in advancing the theory and in discovering the particle that proves the existence of the Higgs field, the Higgs boson."

• NY Times: With Plantronics Gaming Headset, Take a Call Without Hitting Pause
  "The headset market is oversaturated with options, but Plantronics may have found an unexploited niche: multitasking gamers. To reach that demographic of video game players who can juggle multiple activities at once, Plantronics has introduced the RIG headset, an accessory intended for those who want a little more out of their gaming head gear. The RIG offers typical headset features, like a stereo sound and a boom microphone, but it also includes a mixer that allows players to blend game, chat and phone calls."