Campus & Community


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Satellite imagery shows the difference between current and average sea surface temperatures in the Eastern Pacific Ocean as a literal heatmap.
Photo Credit
NOAA Satellites
Sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean were already far higher than average by the first week of June 2026 due to El Niño.

El Niño has become more intense over last 40 years than the previous 1,000 years
Three pumpjacks silhouetted by the setting sun.
Photo Credit
TebNad via iStock
The conflict with Iran provides the perfect circumstance to usher out the era of oil and gasoline now that renewable energy is cheap and ubiquitous.

The war in Iran is the perfect opportunity to kick fossil fuels, and we’re missing it
Dolly Parton the icon with platinum blond hair helmet, blue eye shadow and yellow chiffon dress
Photo Credit
Harry Langdon; Copyright Rock Negatives / MediaPunch 2026
Dolly Parton in 1977

We’ll always love Dolly Parton, Dollyologist explains
an image of a glioblastoma tumor in the brain
Photo Credit
iStock
Glioblastoma tumors are aggressive and difficult to access for treatment

Light-triggered stress response suppresses glioblastoma spread in 3D models
a concept illustration of a person coding with AI

A field guide for the Wild West of AI-assisted science
two humans in white lab coats and hair caps are working in a lab
Photo Credit
Lili Walker
Arin Abed qualifies the newly installed semiconductor packaging equipment at UCSB's Protofab.

UCSB launches prototyping hub for packaging microchips and photonics
A white building with blue steeples and red doors lit up at night
Photo Credit
Courtesy Ensemble Theatre Company
The New Vic Theatre in downtown Santa Barbara

UCSB’s LAUNCH PAD, Ensemble Theatre Company partner on new play readings at the New Vic
An artist's impression of a runaway supermassive black hole that was ejected from its host galaxy.
Photo Credit
NASA, ESA, Leah Hustak (STScI)
The rogue super-massive black hole compresses gas in its wake, forming a long “contrail” of young, blue stars. This unusual event happened when the universe was approximately half its current age.

Physicists reconstruct the collision that launched a runaway black hole
color photo of a UCSB grad student and a local junior high teacher in the classroom
Photo Credit
Maria Zate / UCSB Gevirtz Graduate School of Education
Teacher Education Program graduate Isabella Garcia-Bernasconi (left) with La Colina Junior High School teacher Cameron Hatcher-Day

Back to school: UCSB teacher candidates assist local K-12s
a picture of smoke rising from a wildfire in the hills behind a coastal city
The Palisades Fire of January, 2025, burned watersheds in the Santa Monica Mountains, subsequently impacting water quality at several Southern California beaches

Researchers link wildfires in California’s coastal watersheds to the water quality at the beach
drawing of animals at table
Photo Credit
AM / UCSB Library
Detail from Thomas Nast's layout design for the story of "Poor Robinson Crusoe", c.1880-1900.

Expanded humanities and social science collection at UCSB Library is a research treasure trove
An aerial view of the Totten Ice Shelf during the 61st Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition in late 2019 and early 2020.
Photo Credit
Yoshihiro Nakayama
The Totten Ice Shelf contributes to ice loss in East Antarctica, but this was offset by the increased snowfall from 2021 to 2023.

Antarctica’s brief rebound was caused by climate variability, not a ‘new normal’
man with facial hair in PPE holding a vial in a lab coat
Photo Credit
Courtesy
Doctoral student Andrew White receives personalized guidance in UCSB’s Interdisciplinary Predoctoral Training Program in Quantitative Mechanobiology.

NIH support expands mentorship and training for UCSB bioengineering students
Bolivian tribe receiving health education regarding COVID-19
Photo Credit
Michael Gurven
A health educator conveys information about COVID-19 transmission to members of Bolivia's Tsimané population

Tsimané and Moseten peoples of lowland Bolivia demonstrate an intriguing case of epidemiological resilience
Two Caribbean reef sharks swim past a coral-encrusted rock on a flat, sandy bottom in clear blue water.
Photo Credit
Photo by Alex Rose on Unsplash
Caribbean reef sharks are frequent denizens of Caribbean coral reefs, and their scales certainly find their way into the region’s sand.

Two oceans, one country, 20 times the number of sharks
Two Mapuche women smiling and wearing colorful, traditional attire with silver necklaces.
Photo Credit
Oscar Gutierrez Zozulia via iStock
The Mapuche are Chile’s largest Indigenous group, having retained independence form the Spanish empire for centuries.

Indigenous land restitution empowers communities, but environmental gains require extra support
black and white aerial photograph from 1929 of the coast between Cole Oil Point and Campus Point
Photo Credit
Fairchild Aerial Surveys / UCSB Library Special Research Collections
A 1929 aerial photograph of what is now called Coal Oil Point (lower left), Isla Vista and UC Santa Barbara's Campus Lagoon

UCSB team saves historic aerial photos critical to coastal research
a pair of elderly hands hold onto a walker

Researchers find direct human evidence for a neural circuit that may help better understand a mystery of Parkinson’s Disease
Female scientist with choral background
Photo Credit
Courtesy
Assistant professor of bioengineering Marley Dewey

NSF grant supports Marley Dewey’s work to restore coral reefs
hand holding a pair of prosthetic glasses
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
UCSB’s Michael Beyeler is using AI to improve visual cortical prostheses, or “bionic eyes.”

Deep learning refines how bionic eyes communicate with the brain
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