STEM Solutions

Attention UC Graduate Students in STEM Fields: Have you ever thought, "There ought to be a law..."?

STEM Solutions in Public Policy Award Competition

EXTENDED DEADLINE!

Applications will be accepted through Friday, June 24, 2022

Notifications to those that submitted applications will not be released until August

UC Center Sacramento announces the 2022-2023 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Solutions in Public Policy Award Competition. The award will recognize one or more outstanding proposals for new California state legislation from University of California Graduate Students in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics). The winner(s) will receive $750 in research support and – should their idea advance through the legislative process – travel support to confer with legislators and/or legislative staff in Sacramento and potentially testify before legislative committees.

Submissions will be accepted through Friday, June 24, 2022 and should include the following:

An abstract of the proposed law, its purpose, and the underlying science or impact on scientific research (<=250 words)
Completed “There Ought to Be a Law” application form
Current CV

Completed applications should be sent to stemsolutions@ucdavis.edu

For the STEM Solutions Application, click here.

Notifications to those that submitted applications will not be released until August

To view last year's policy pitch workshop, click here.

To view a recording of last year's informational webinar, click here.

For questions, please see the UCCS STEM Solutions Frequently Asked Questions. Additional questions regarding the competition can be sent to this email stemsolutions@ucdavis.edu.

Competition winners will be selected based primarily on the clarity, feasibility, and originality of their proposal. Please note that if a state legislator decides to author a bill based on your proposal, the legislator will retain ownership of the idea for the duration of the legislative cycle.

2021-2022 STEM Solutions in Public Policy Award Winners

We are proud to announce the winner of the 2021-2022 STEM Solutions in Public Policy Award! The award recognizes an outstanding proposal for new California state legislation from University of California Graduate Students in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics). This year’s winner, Anh Diep from UC Merced, was selected based on their proposal to standardize and mandate diagnostic training for physicians on Valley Fever in California and will receive a $1000 research stipend. We are also pleased to recognize five additional graduate students as STEM Solutions Award Finalists for submitting outstanding legislative proposals. Both the winner and the finalists had the opportunity to interact with legislative staff around their proposals. Please join us in congratulating our 2021-2022 Winner and four Finalists!

Award Winner

Anh L. Diep
University of California, Merced

“To view the abstract of our Award Winner Anh Diep, Click Here"

Finalists

Veronica Gonzalez
University of California, Irvine

Caroline Hung
University of California, Riverside

Lauren Wagner & Ashna Aggarwal
University of California, Los Angeles

Timothy Scully
University of California, Santa Cruz

2021 STEM Solutions in Public Policy Award Winners

Award Winner

Autumn Iverson
University of California, Davis

“To view the abstract of our Award Winner Autumn Iverson, Click Here”.

Finalists

Sunay Bhat
University of California, Los Angeles

Thomas Dugger & Karin Johnson
University of California, Riverside

Vishnu Vijayakumar
University of California, Davis

2020 STEM Solutions in Public Policy Award Winners

Award Winners

Emily McGlynn
University of California, Davis

Kavya Samudrala & William Ota
University of California, Riverside

Finalists

Holly Andrews & Lindsey Pedroncelli
University of California, Riverside

Juliana Chase & Nicholas Karavolias
University of California, Berkeley

Emily Graves
University of California, Davis

2019 STEM Solutions in Public Policy Award Winners

Award Winner

Eric Lee
University of California, Berkeley

For a STEM Solutions update on UC Berkeley’s Eric Lee, click here.

Finalists

Brenna Briggs
University of California, Irvine

Jessica Jagdeo & Joshua Mueller
University of California, Santa Barbara

William Ota
University of California, Riverside

Hannah Safford
University of California, Davis