UCSB is one of only 61 institutions elected to membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities. And the Newsweek guide to America’s best colleges has named UCSB one of the country’s “hottest colleges” twice in the past decade.
In addition to five Nobel Laureates, UCSB’s faculty includes many elected members or fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (25), the National Academy of Sciences (32), the National Academy of Engineering (25), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (60). Three UCSB professors also have been named MacArthur Fellows by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Andrea Adams, University of California, Santa Barbara
Amphibians have been devastated by a chytrid fungus pandemic. Researchers immunized California red-legged frogs in Yosemite to give them a fighting chance at survival, with surprising results.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers a prime-time speech on Sept. 1, 2022, in Philadelphia.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Sara Kamali, University of California, Santa Barbara
President Biden denounces white nationalism as once-democratic countries around the world are threatened by increasing political support for this ideology.
People line up to pay their respects before the funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on July 12, 2022, at Zojoji Temple in Tokyo.
AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko
A scholar of Japanese religion explains the connections that Japan’s political parties have with several religious groups and how religion is tied in with the legacy of Shinzo Abe.
In this photograph, former President Donald Trump appears on a video screen above members of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Sara Kamali, University of California, Santa Barbara
A former Oath Keepers member testified during a congressional hearing that it was time to stop mincing words about the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol: ‘It was an armed revolution.’
Evolutionary psychology may explain why magical thinking is so central to love.
Viva Luna Studios via Unsplash
It’s not logical to believe your relationship is “meant to be.” But believing in destined love may have evolved as a way to keep couples together long enough to reproduce and raise children.
Satellite image of the Irrawaddy River delta in Myanmar, a major rice growing area.
European Space Agency
Vamsi Ganti, University of California, Santa Barbara
Millions of people around the world live on river deltas and are vulnerable when those rivers shift direction. A new study shows why and where these events, called avulsions, happen.
A Shinto priest performs a ritual at an altar.
Leo Laporte/flickr
An anthropologist of Japanese religion met followers of Shinto religion online and found how they were building a community and sharing instructions on practice.
Nicaragua’s power couple, Vice President Rosario Murillo and husband President Daniel Ortega.
INTI OCON/AFP via Getty Images
Kai M. Thaler, University of California, Santa Barbara
The rule of Daniel Ortega has become increasingly authoritarian. Sanctions and repression could destabilize the region and result in increased numbers of refugees.
Oiled sand in Huntington Beach, Calif., after a 126,000-gallon spill from an offshore oil pipeline.
Nick Ut/Getty Images
Offshore oil drilling has a long history in California, but is highly unpopular today. The latest major spill is likely to fuel efforts to wind down oil and gas production statewide.
Rising global temperatures are increasing heat risks for outdoor workers and the urban poor.
Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images
Hot, humid population centers are becoming epicenters of heat risk as climate changes worsens. It’s calling into question the conventional wisdom that urbanization uniformly reduces poverty.
Un pèse-bébé est suspendu à une branche d'arbre lors d'une séance de dépistage de la malnutrition à Ifotaka, dans le sud de Madagascar.
RIJASOLO/AFP via Getty Images
Lisa Hajjar, University of California, Santa Barbara
A scholar who has visited Guantanamo 11 times to observe legal proceedings in the 9/11 terrorism case explains why the conflict continues to delay the case going to trial.
A baby scale hangs on a tree branch during a malnutrition screening session in Ifotaka, southern Madagascar.
RIJASOLO/AFP via Getty Images
Sarah Thebaud, University of California, Santa Barbara and Catherine Taylor, University of California, Santa Barbara
New study finds that workplace hostility toward motherhood in STEM fields can deter even young, childless women from pursuing academic careers.
On the campaign trail, Pedro Castillo often wore a straw-palm hat typical of Peru’s rural Cajamarca region, where he is from.
Ricardo Moreira/Getty Images
Castillo is a farmer and teacher who has never held national office. Peru is a nation in political turmoil, with the world’s worst COVID-19 death rate. Can this unlikely leader lead it through crisis?
Local support might be the most important factor for a successful marine protected area.
Anastasia Quintana
In the design of marine protected areas, new research suggests that it might be better to start small in order to gain local trust and support that leads to larger long-term benefits.
An orchard near Kettleman City in California’s San Joaquin Valley on April 2, 2021.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Debra Perrone, University of California, Santa Barbara and Scott Jasechko, University of California, Santa Barbara
The US has one of the highest groundwater use rates in the world. When wells run dry, households may opt to conserve water, find new sources or sell and move.
The Office of Military Commissions building in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was where much legal activity about the detainees’ cases was handled.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Lisa Hajjar, University of California, Santa Barbara
The release of a new movie calls public attention to the US government’s treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, and what the detainees’ future might be.
The rejection culture of academia is damaging. Rejections are inevitable, but there are better ways of managing the process that don’t leave individuals to bear the whole burden of coping.