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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

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wildfire smoke rises behind a row of houses

Wildfire resilience has always been the goal. Now it's a number
four men stand shoulder to shoulder in matching blue team shirts
Photo Credit
Courtesy
Team UCSB-WA (left to right): coach Wesley Hung ‘24 (CoE Computer Science), Ezra Furtado-Tiwari ‘28 (CCS Computing, Mathematics), Om Mahesh ‘28 (CCS Mathematics; CoE Computer Science) and David Qiao ‘26 (CoE Computer Science; L&S Mathematics)

UCSB team heads to world finals in Dubai for programming competition
giant kelp on a sandy beach

Kelp forests connected to sandy beach food webs
Wind turbines tower over a field of grain under a cloudless Minnesotan sky.
Photo Credit
DonLand via iStock
Putting land to multiple uses is both economically and ecologically wise.

Integrated land planning is necessary to meet climate, food and biodiversity goals
two building structures in concrete with a bridge connecting them and a wide staircase with students walking down it
Photo Credit
Matt Perko

NSF-funded program supports and retains first-year engineers
closeup of a black bird called a grackle

Grackle research reveals behavioral flexibility and adaptation in action
hands holding a tiny crab
Photo Credit
Matt Perko

Beyond the Classroom: The Research Experience and Education Facility (REEF)
Black woman with glasses in beauty aisle looking at products
Photo Credit
iStock

‘Clean’ beauty products for textured hair often contain hidden hazards
two ucsb students and the manager of the campus bike shop with a pile of old bike tires
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Environmental studies undergrads Sophia Long (left) and Virginia Such with A.S. Bike Shop Manager Adam Jahnke, April 2026

UCSB environmental studies team launches tire recycling program at A.S. Bike Shop
Lily Collins presents David Gross with his Breakthrough Award
Photo Credit
Lester Cohen/Getty Images Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize
Lily Collins and David J. Gross, 2026 Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics winner speak onstage during the 12th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at Barker Hangar on April 18, 2026 in Santa Monica, California.

UCSB’s David Gross wins Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
underwater photo of a coral reef

Researchers uncover a ‘treasure trove’ of bioactive molecules in coral reefs
a close up image of a fruit fly

Newly discovered neural connections reveal that inhibitory neurons can also drive movement
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