The Coha/Gunderson Prize in Speculative Futures
The Coha/Gunderson Awards in Speculative Futures are made possible by alumni Peter Coha (Kresge College ’78, Math) and UCSC Foundation Board Trustee James Gunderson (Rachel Carson College ’77, Philosophy).
The Speculatively Scientific Fictions of the Future THI Research Cluster announces a campus-wide competition, open to undergraduate and graduate students, for a creative piece of (social or scientific) speculative fiction, which can be in any medium or genre but must be available for review and assessment by cluster members and ultimately shared with the public, whether through an exhibition, a performance, a proposed course, or future publication. Submissions may be individual or collaborative.
AIDAN ANDREASEN
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Talos Machine - Interactive Fiction I'm an Art & Design: Games & Playable Media major with an interest in using interactivity to enhance the way we tell stories. I'm also interested in potential futures for humanity and the question of what makes us human. Talos Machine was designed as a way of exploring these subjects in a more engaging way than a traditional short story. If I'm honest, I frequently question the value of my degree given the high cost of attending college. This award eases those doubts, both because it shows I displayed some genuine skill designing a playable media work, and because having an extra $1000 to put towards student loans lessens college's financial burden ever so slightly. |
CHLOE RICKARDS
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Cordyceps - Watercolors and Accompanying Description Chloe Rickards (she/they) is a Masters student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. They grew up in nine different states as an Air Force brat, graduated with a Bachelor's in Bioengineering from Stanford University, and joined the Kilpatrick Lab at UCSC to study disease ecology. Chloe studies why diseases impact some populations more severely than others and is writing her thesis on how COVID-19 infection fatality varies with age. She is slated to graduate in Summer 2022, and plans to use her knowledge of statistics and epidemiology to work in data science. Chloe loves rock climbing, immersive theater, and good stories. |
RAFAEL FRANCO
Literature
2021-22 Coha/Gunderson Scholar
Future Farmers of Amerika: Poems from the Year 2054 - Poetry Collection
Rafael Franco is a 1st year PhD student in the Literature Department. He is working with the Hispanic Serving Institution GANAS Career Internship Program, where he gets to work closely with students who have been historically underrepresented in higher education. Future Farmers of Amerika: Poems of the Year 2054 aims to help propel farmworkers and marginalized folks into history, as immigrant farmworkers, such as his father, are often erased from the past, present, and future. While he does not characterize himself as a creative writer, winning this award with his poems shows him that he has the potential to make others feels hope, anger, frustration, happiness, and loads of other emotions through his writing.
