Campus & Community


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sunlight shines through a swimming jellyfish
Photo Credit
iStock

Adaptive molecular convergence more common than previously thought
Storm clouds gather over the ocean.
Photo Credit
Photo by Daniel Lerman on Unsplash
Strong storms and higher seas from El Niño exacerbate winter hazards in Southern California.

Understanding the causes and impacts of 2026’s record-breaking El Niño
illustration of a brain blood clot
Photo Credit
istock

Brain surgery by autonomous robot? It’s possible — and could save lives
An arial view of Campus Point looking toward the university and the mountains behind it.
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
UCSB’s privileged position on the coast places it in the vanguard of climate adaptation.

UCSB seeks community input as the university plans for sea-level rise
A partially blurred image of four men posed on a rooftop holding a large colorful light
Photo Credit
Jay Blakeserg
Beloved alumni jam band ALO features Zach Gill ’97, Dan Lebowitz ’98, Steve Adams ’99 and Ezra Lipp

UCSB’s GauchoFest invites community to campus for a day of celebration
color photograph of art students working on a mural
Photo Credit
Yumiko Glover
UCSB ART 100 students working on the Lane Room Mural, summer 2026

Student artists produce themed mural for Department of Political Science
Elephant bones lay scattered around a bare patch on the African savanna with mountains in the background.
Photo Credit
Courtney Reed
An elephant transforms the spot where it dies, with a legacy that lasts long after the body is gone and the bones are scattered.

Elephants continue to shape the savanna even after death
A UCSB student stands at a whiteboard and works on an equation while consulting her computer
Photo Credit
Matt Perko

UC Santa Barbara taking a ‘base camp’ approach to artificial intelligence
A woman in a cloak and with snakes for hair sings on a blackened stage
Photo Credit
Luca Meyers
In their new musical, 'A Legacy of Stone,' student-run Shrunken Heads Production Company explore how Medusa became a symbol of female rage.

Student theater company offers new view of Medusa with musical, ‘A Legacy of Stone’
A tractor sprays fertilizer or pesticides on a green field.
Photo Credit
MaYcaL via iStock
Synthetic fertilizer has increased the amount of nitrogen compounds in the biosphere, compounds that must be converted by microbes back into nitrogen gas.

A rare atomic fingerprint reveals how ecosystems clean nitrogen pollution
Black-and-white portrait of a woman with long hair leaning against a wall and looking over her shoulder towards a tree
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Heidi Amin-Hong

Refugee studies meets environmental justice in new special journal issue
photo of Tsimane people, left, and photo of Hadza people, right
Photo Credit
Michael Gurven; iStock
Though separated by an ocean for millennia, the rural Tsimané of lowland Bolivia, left, and Hadza people of Tanzania, right, share a remarkable number of gut microbiome species, many of which have disappeared from the microbiomes of people in urbanized societies

Microbiome study reveals ancient gut connections between Africa and South America
woman sharing food with her children in a bright setting
Photo Credit
iStock

Young infants infer the closeness of social relationships via saliva sharing interactions
Waves roll up the shoreline at sunrise, horizon is orange in the distance
Photo Credit
Matt Perko

UC Santa Barbara introduces minor in environmental humanities
a painting of festively dressed men and women at Fiesta
A student work at the "Finding Fiesta" museum exhibit at Casa de la Guerra

Young students tap UCSB archive to reflect on century-old Fiesta celebration
Black and white 1970s era portrait of Luis J. Rodriguez
Photo Credit
Courtesy UCSB Library
Luis J. Rodriguez is a pivotal artist and public figure whose life and work illuminate the modern history of Chicanismo

Luis J. Rodriguez Papers at UCSB Library document life and work of the renowned author and activist
image of lab instrument
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
The scanning ultrafast electron microscope in the Bolin Liao lab

Mechanical engineer Bolin Liao to develop platform for imaging and controlling quantum interactions with 2D materials
Leander Anderegg sits on the stairs to the left of Kelly Caylor and David Valentine.
Leander Anderegg, Kelly Caylor, and David Valentine have all been recognized by the American Geophysical Union for their work.

Three UCSB researchers recognized for contributions to the earth sciences
color photograph of a group of college students in discussion

Speaker series and graduate seminars explore academic freedom
A man in a navy blue sit sits on a table in a modern lecture hall
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Distinguished Professor John Bowers

John Bowers honored by UC Regents for a lifetime of innovation
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