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Courtesy UCSB Engineering
A close-up view of anaerobic gut fungi under the microscope. Armed with powerful plant-degrading enzymes and a dense network of hyphae, these specialized microbes break down tough lignocellulosic plant matter in the absence of oxygen.

Two UCSB-led projects selected for DOE’s Genesis Mission

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UCSB professor Deron Burkepile explores the North shore of Moorea’s fore reef.
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Andrew Thurber
The structural complexity of a healthy coral reef provides habitat for a diversity of lifeforms.

Dead coral skeletons hinder reef regeneration by sheltering seaweed
broadband tower overlooks a rural area

Federal broadband subsidies boosted rural internet, but service faded once funding ended, researchers find
groups of chess pieces on either side of a dividing line

Elections math is the subject of new graduate seminar
scientist looking at brain imaging scans
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Matt Perko
Emily Jacobs

New study reveals changes in the brain throughout pregnancy
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UC Santa Barbara partners with SB City College to expand workforce training in micro/nanotechnology and semiconductor manufacturing
two women on stage
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James Badham
Yangying Zhu (right), assistant professor in the UCSB Mechanical Engineering Department, receives her award certificate from ARPA-E Program Director Dr. Evelyn Wang at the National Academy of Sciences, in Washington, D.C.

Making desalination more efficient, by way of renewable energy
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Exploiting atomically thin materials for energy efficient electronics
A globe made out of healthy foods with a stethoscope against a blackboard background.
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Udra via iStock

Billions worldwide consume inadequate levels of micronutrients critical to human health
scientists in lab with crates
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Jeff Liang
UCSB ExFAB staff and senior participants, from left, Oliver Vining, Elaine Kirschke, Jean-Marie Volland, Nathalie Elisabeth, Sherylle Mills Englander, Max Wilson, Michelle O'Malley, Joel Rothman, Niels Volkmann and Carolyn Mills.

UCSB to lead $22M NSF-funded center on exceptional microbes

Physicists work toward theory to describe pattern formation in conserved fields
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Aspiring engineers receive national research fellowships, with significant funding
Pedestrians in IR walk along a cobblestone street.
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Ildar Abulkhanov via iStock
It’s not quite heat vision, but mosquitoes do use thermal infrared to find human hosts.

Mosquitoes sense infrared from body heat to help track humans down
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