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a closeup of a centimeter-long crustacean on beach sand
Photo Credit
Courtesy Image
Megalorchestia corniculata, one of six major species of sand hoppers in California

Tiny beach-dwelling crustaceans are big-time sand movers, shaping the California coast

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color photograph of professors Miguel Eckstein and Arpit Gupta
Photo Credit
courtesy
UC Santa Barbara vision scientist Miguel Eckstein (left) and computer scientist Arpit Gupta will discuss AI as a research tool

UCSB researchers discuss AI role in computing and cognition
two men stand in front of a tri-fold scientific presentation
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Courtesy
UCSB Professor Haewon Jeong's PhD student Neel Sankaran (left) with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientist Min Sang Cho (right).

UCSB, Lawrence Livermore collaborate to accelerate fusion plasma simulations with AI
a hand cradles a lit lightbulb against a sunset sky
Photo Credit
iStock

Six UCSB junior faculty members selected for 2026 NSF CAREER awards
Iris Holzer
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Iris Holzer's expertise in enhanced rock weathering and soil carbon storage makes her a shoe-in to help lead the IPCC methodology report.

UCSB professor to lead IPCC methodology report on carbon capture, storage and utilization
A researcher in protective gear works near a tall, cylindrical scientific instrument with visible wiring. The walls surrounding it are reflective Teflon.
Photo Credit
Matthew Kapust/Sanford Underground Research Facility
The LUX-ZEPLIN main detector in a surface lab before installation underground.

LZ sees surprising result in search for dark matter
A young scientist holds a pipette over a flask with orange liquid as another looks on.
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Undergraduate Collin Vergel de Dios inoculates a culture to purify optogenetic proteins under the guidance of graduate student Alex Maynard.

UCSB professor lands DARPA award to develop mini DNA factories
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
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
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
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
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