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UCSB Physics Department

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Pull up next Monday, 5/11, to Women in Physics Dinner Party in Broida 3302! Faculty, grad students, postdocs, and undergrads are all welcome to socialize over catered Chipotle. Please RSVP at the link in @ucsb_womentum 's bio by May 8th. by @ucsbphysics

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5 months ago

Congratulations to UCSB's very own Lars Bildsten for being elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences!

Bildsten, along with UCSB faculty Alice L. Allredge and Henry T. Yang, is among the 252 leaders in academia, the arts, industry, journalism, philanthropy, policy, research and science elected as new members in 2026.

Read more at the link in our bio.

Congratulations Dr. Bildsten! by @ucsbphysics

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5 months ago

Join @ucsb_womentum for a study jam in Broida 3302, complete with energy drinks and snacks. Pull up and you are guaranteed As on all of your midterms >:) by @ucsbphysics

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6 months ago

The Breakthrough Prize Foundation announced physicist David J. Gross, of UC Santa Barbara’s Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, among the winners of the 2026 Breakthrough Prizes, honoring scientists whose discoveries are significantly driving growth of human knowledge.

Gross, cited “for a lifetime of groundbreaking contributions to theoretical physics, from the strong force to string theory, and for tireless advocacy for basic science worldwide, was awarded the 2026 Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.

Congratulations Dr. Gross!

Read more in "The Current," linked in our bio! by @ucsbphysics

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6 months ago

Interested in learning more about quantum computing, quantum technologies, and quantum information science? Join QCSB (Quantum Computing @ Santa Barbara), a new student organization for UCSB undergraduate and graduate students. All majors are welcome!

Throughout the quarter, we’ll host guest lectures from professors and industry professionals, organize career and research panels, host workshops, and run journal clubs to explore current academic papers.

Our first meeting will be held Tuesday, April 14th at 6:30 pm in Broida 3302 (food provided). Follow us on Instagram @QCSantaBarbara for more updates and check out our attached flyer. by @ucsbphysics

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6 months ago

UC Santa Barbara doctoral candidate in physics, Skyler Palatnick, PhD ’26, has been named to Heising-Simons Foundation’s Science program’s new class of 51 Pegasi b Fellows, which he will perform at UCLA, a three-year program that provides outstanding postdoctoral scientists with the opportunity to conduct theoretical, observational and experimental research in planetary astronomy. As one of the eight new fellows for 2026, Palatnick will extend his research into ultraviolet wavelengths — a gap in current coronagraph technology.

Read more in "The Current," linked in our bio! by @ucsbphysics

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6 months ago

Postdoctoral researcher Dimitrios Krommydas won the 2026 Postdoctoral Speaker award for "Still Playing with Sticks: Controlling Turbulent Flows in Compressible Active Nematics," presented at the dedicated Division of Statistical and Nonlinear Physics Student and Postdoc Speaker Award Session at the 2026 APS Global Summit in March 2026 in Denver.

Slides 2 and 3 picture two of the most relevant simulations from his talk. by @ucsbphysics

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6 months ago

For decades, astronomers have used distant supernovae as cosmic lighthouses to test fundamental physics and to measure the universe. For Joseph Farah, a fifth-year graduate student at UC Santa Barbara, one particular supernova began to signal something never seen before: a “chirp.”

In a groundbreaking paper accepted to the journal Nature, Farah and a team of international researchers, including his advisor Andy Howell, who leads the supernova group at Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO), announce the discovery of a superluminous supernova (SN 2024afav) whose erratic behavior has confirmed a long-standing theory of stellar death.

Read more in "The Current," linked in our bio! by @ucsbphysics

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7 months ago

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at UC Santa Barbara has been awarded a major research grant from Wellcome Leap to join an ambitious global effort investigating if, when, and how the early-life gut microbiome may influence neurodevelopmental challenges, including autism spectrum disorder.

Photo Caption: UC Santa Barbara collaborators (left to right) Michelle O’Malley, Ty Vernon, Jean Carlson, and Elaine Kirschke in the NSF ExFAB Biofoundry, a state-of-the-art facility central to the university’s newly awarded project.

Find out more at the link in our bio! by @ucsbphysics

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7 months ago

Join @udip_ucsb in a workshop style lecture on different math topics that can help you prepare for the 20 series and beyond! Free food will be provided. Ask questions, build community, and have fun learning! by @ucsbphysics

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7 months ago

From tennis prodigy to #UCSB physics professor: Ania Jayich has an athlete’s mindset when it comes to scientific innovation—her competitive drive motivates her. She once held the No. 1 national ranking for women’s 18-and-under singles tennis 🎾

Now the co-founder of the interdisciplinary Quantum Foundry, Jayich works to discover quantum phenomena to create sensors from engineered defects in diamonds 💎 When she’s not in the lab, Jayich supports her children in their own burgeoning tennis careers, while still reminding them to focus on academics.

“To be good at something, you have to work hard and you have to train,” she says. “And it’s not always easy, and it’s not always fun.”

Full story in UC Santa Barbara Magazine at the link in our bio 👩‍🔬

#UCSantaBarbara #WomensHistoryMonth #WorldTennisDay

Image descriptions:
1. Three tennis players in white outfits stand behind the next on a blue outdoor court.
2. A tennis play mid-swing on the court.
3. Two researchers working together on an experiment setup in a lab filled with scientific equipment and cables. A woman and her two daughters stand together on a tennis court. taken in University of California, Santa Barbara by @ucsbphysics

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7 months ago

Join @ucsb_womentum and WaGMiP for an afternoon of games, snacks, and socializing this Friday, 2/27 at 3PM! Don't miss this special opportunity to socialize between grad students and undergrads in an informal setting! by @ucsbphysics

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8 months ago