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FEATURED NEWS
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 Chanel, UCSB’s Corpse Flower, Blooms and Causes a Big Stink Chanel, UC Santa Barbara’s corpse flower, has finally spread her odiferous wings, broadcasting a stench that smells like a cross between rotting flesh and Limburger cheese. “It's disgusting,” said UCSB junior Connor Way, who visited Wednesday morning. “It's pretty nasty.” The entire community has been holding its collective breath waiting for UCSB’s Amorophallus titanum, its proper botanic name, to bloom. “This is a rare occurrence under cultivation and even rarer in its native Sumatra, where the deforestation of equatorial rainforests has wreaked havoc on its habitat,” said UCSB biology greenhouse manager Danica Taber, left. “There are 300,000 different species of flowering plants and the corpse flower is one of the most extreme examples of how evolution can result in extreme flowers and pollination systems," said Scott Hodges, professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology. “This is a tremendous opportunity to show students and the general public about plant diversity and biology in general.” |
 Simons Collaboration on Origins of Life Awards $1 Million to Chemistry Professor Irene Chen, who came to UC Santa Barbara at the beginning of the year, recently received a five-year grant to support her study of the emergence and evolution of biomolecules. The funding comes from a new Simons Foundation program whose goal is to advance understanding of the processes that led to the emergence of life. Chen is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. |
 Study Reveals Mechanism Behind Squids’ Ability to Change Color Cuttlefish can go from bright red, which means stay away, to zebra-striped, an invitation for mating. A team of UCSB researchers has discovered the mechanism that allows cuttlefish and their fellow cephalopods to activate built-in cellular nanostructures responsible for color change. A neurotransmitter activates a cascade of events to initiate color-changing process. The animals control the extent of their color change and can reverse it at will. The findings may one day have applications in telecommunications and synthetic camouflage. |
 Face Identification Accuracy is in the Eye (and Brain) of the Beholder Though humans generally have a tendency to look at a region just below the eyes and above the nose toward the midline when first identifying another person, a small subset of people tend to look further down –– at the tip of the nose, for instance, or at the mouth. However, as UC Santa Barbara researchers Miguel Eckstein and Matthew Peterson recently discovered, “nose lookers” and “mouth lookers” can do just as well as everyone else when it comes to the split-second decision-making that goes into identifying someone. Their findings are in a recent issue of the journal Psychological Science. |
 Nobel Laureates Dispense Advice for Future Generations of Researchers In a free, public event of the ongoing GRITtalk series, three of UCSB’s five Nobel laureates discussed how they came to the work that won them the Nobel prize, and when they realized it was groundbreaking in nature. Alan Heeger (Chemistry, 2000), Finn Kydland (Economics, 2004), and Walter Kohn (Chemistry, 1998) talked to a packed house at Hatlen Theater about their lives pre- and post-Nobel. They talked about risk, rejection and self-doubt. Yes, even Nobel laureates are human. “After the Nobel Prize, there was a period of time when I was hesitant to take a risk,” recalled Heeger. “It's okay to fall on your face when no one is looking. But I got over it. One should never lose one’s nerve.” |
 Rare Corpse Flower to Bloom at Biology Greenhouse Chanel the Titan Arum gets ready to bloom in the UCSB greenouse. This rare occurrence is only the second time a corpse flower, officially known as Amorphophallus titanium, has bloomed on campus. The last bloom in 2002 was Tiny, who is Chanel’s mother. These giant perennial herbs hail from Sumatra and smell like rotting flesh in order to attract such pollinators as flesh flies. When the female flowers are receptive to pollination, the tall center part of the bloom heats up to send the foul odor wafting farther afield. Public viewing times will be posted on Chanel’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ChanelTheTitanArum) as blooming becomes imminent. |
 Southern California Crustacean Sand-Dwellers Suffering Localized Extinctions Two types of small beach critters –– both cousins of the beloved, backyard roly-poly –– are suffering localized extinctions in Southern California at an alarming rate, says a new study by UC Santa Barbara scientists. As indicator species for beach biodiversity at large, their disappearance suggests a looming threat to similar sand-dwelling animals across the state and around the world. Led by David Hubbard and Jenifer Dugan of UCSB’s Marine Science Institute, the new work reveals a trend toward extirpation that has been growing slowly since 1905, steadily since the 1970’s, and today reflects the “dramatic” impact of development, climate change, and sea level rise on the diminutive critters that are essential prey for shorebirds. |
| New Ph.D. Emphasis at UCSB Offers Robust Bioengineering Training Doctoral students at UCSB looking to get more robust training in the growing field of bioengineering will be able to take advantage of UCSB’s newest academic offering: an optional emphasis in bioengineering offered through the campus’s Center for BioEngineering (CBE). The emphasis, offered to Ph.D. candidates starting in their second year, gives them the tools to integrate their studies and research in the fields of engineering and the life sciences through lectures and seminars on how to approach research topics in biomedical engineering, biomimetics, systems biology, and other bioengineering applications. The program starts this fall. |
 Professor of Mechanical Engineering and of Materials Receives Fraunhofer-Bessel Research Award Matthew Begley, professor of mechanical engineering and of materials at UC Santa Barbara, has been chosen as one of three recipients for the 2013 Fraunhofer-Bessel Research Award. The award is given for “an outstanding performance in applied research.” Begley, who received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from UCSB in 1995, joined the faculty in 2010. The author of more than 100 archival publications with emphases in computational mechanics and device physics, Begley’s research has expanded into bio-inspired composite materials. “I was absolutely delighted to hear that he has been elected the recipient of the Humboldt Foundation’s Fraunhofer Bessel Research Award,” UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang said. |
 Study Determines Source of Oil Sheens Near the Site of Deepwater Horizon A chemical analysis of oil sheens recently found floating at the ocean’s surface near the site of the Deepwater Horizon disaster indicates that the source is pockets of oil trapped within the wreckage of the sunken rig. Researchers, including UCSB geochemist David Valentine, used a recently patented method to fingerprint the chemical makeup of the oil sheens and then compared it with debris from the rig, which was coated with oil and was contaminated by drilling mud olefins. |
 Materials Professor Craig Hawker Appointed Director of California NanoSystems Institute Craig Hawker, professor of materials and of chemistry and biochemistry at UC Santa Barbara, has accepted the position of scientific director of the campus-based California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI). “I am delighted that Professor Hawker has agreed to this new position and we look forward to working with him to continue to advance the California NanoSystems Institute," said Executive Vice Chancellor Gene Lucas in his announcement to the campus community. Hawker assumes the leadership role previously filled by David Awschalom, a renowned UCSB physicist known for his work in spintronics and quantum computation. |
 Black Studies Scholar Examines Improvisation as a Tool for Social Change In his new book “The Fierce Urgency of Now — Improvisation, Rights, and the Ethics of Cocreation,” George Lipsitz, a professor of Black Studies and of sociology at UC Santa Barbara, links musical improvisation to struggles for social change. Co-authored with Daniel Fischlin and Ajay Heble, both of the University of Guelph, the book examines the ways in which struggles for human rights have been informed by the ethics of co-creation that are nurtured and sustained within forms of Afro-diasporic expressive culture. What critics and curators often describe as community-based art making, the authors argue, is better described as art-based community making — a form of democratic interaction that enacts the just social relations that social movements often only envision. |
 UCSB Global Studies Thrives with Support of Orfalea Foundation UCSB’s still-young Master of Arts in Global & International Studies (MAGIS) is flourishing with the support of Kinko’s founder (and distinguished visiting professor) Paul Orfalea, Natalie Orfalea, and their Orfalea Foundation. The philanthropic nonprofit gifted the campus $12 million to launch and grow MAGIS and the Orfalea Center for Global & International Studies. The pledge got each entity off the ground –– and has seen both evolve into world-class hubs for training and research alike. Next up: a doctoral program in the discipline, which is expected to be available at UCSB within about two years. |
 NCEAS Research Finds Tropical Forest Blossoms Are Sensitive to Changing Climate The North Pole isn’t the only place on Earth affected by slight increases in temperature. Until recently, scientific thinking used to posit that tropical forests, which already exist in warm climates, may not be impacted much by climate change. But a new study conducted by UC Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) shows that to be erroneous. In fact, the results indicate that tropical forests are producing more flowers in response to only slight increases in temperature. The findings were published online in the journal Nature Climate Change. |
 Feeding Galaxy Caught in Distant Searchlight An international group of astronomers that includes UC Santa Barbara astrophysicist Crystal Martin and former UCSB postdoctoral researcher Nicolas Bouché has spotted a distant galaxy hungrily snacking on nearby gas. The gas is seen to fall inward toward the galaxy, creating a flow that both fuels star formation and drives the galaxy's rotation. This is the best direct observational evidence so far supporting the theory that galaxies pull in and devour nearby material in order to grow and form stars. The results appear in the July 5 issue of the journal Science. |
 Ecosystem Productivity Declines Fueled by Nitrogen-Induced Species Loss Humans have been affecting their environment since the ancestors of Homo sapiens first walked upright. In fact, human-driven environmental disturbances, such as increasing levels of reactive nitrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2), have multiple effects, including changes in biodiversity, species composition, and ecosystem functioning. A new study examining these effects on a grassland ecosystem finds that adding nitrogen to grasslands causes an initial increase in ecosystem productivity followed by a nitrogen-driven loss of plant diversity. In contrast, elevated CO2 didn’t decrease or change grassland plant diversity and consistently promoted productivity over time. The results of this study show that changes in biodiversity can be important intermediary drivers of the long-term effects of human-caused environmental changes on ecosystem functioning. |
 Sociologist Examines Same-Sex Marriage Debate Within LBGT Movement Few issues have provoked such polarized — and heated — responses in American society as same-sex marriage. What may come as a surprise, however, is how polarizing the right to marry has been within the gay and lesbian community. In her new book, “The Marrying Kind? Debating Same-Sex Marriage within the Lesbian and Gay Movement,” Verta Taylor, a professor of sociology at UC Santa Barbara, examines arguments within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movement in support of — and in opposition to — same-sex marriage. Drawing on empirical research, she also studies how those arguments have affected marriage equality campaigns. |
 Simple Math may Solve Longstanding Problem of Parasite Energetics Feeling faint from the flu? Is your cold causing you to collapse? Your infection is the most likely cause, and, according to a new study by UC Santa Barbara research scientist Ryan Hechinger, it may be possible to know just how much energy your bugs are taking from you, through modifications of equations from the metabolic theory of ecology — a theory that describes the relationships between metabolic rates, body temperatures, and sizes of organisms. His findings are published in a recent issue of The American Naturalist. |
 Physics Professor to Receive Eugene Feenberg Medal Douglas Scalapino, UC Santa Barbara research professor of physics, will receive the 2013 Eugene Feenberg Memorial Medal. A researcher who attended Feenberg’s lectures at Washington University, Scalapino was cited “for his imaginative use and development of the Monte Carlo approach and for his ground-breaking contributions to superconductivity.” The award will be presented in September at the annual Recent Progress in Many-Body Theory Conference in Germany. |
 Astronomer Uncovers Hidden Identity of an Exoplanet Thanks to Diana Dragomir we now know the true mass and size of HD 97658b, an exoplanet orbiting a bright star. An astronomer with UC Santa Barbara’s Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Dragomir used an ultraprecise space telescope to track HD 97658b’s orbit and found that its density is about four grams per cubic centimeter, a third of the density of lead but denser than most rocks. This super-Earth — so-called because its mass and radius are between those of the Earth and Neptune — has a thick atmosphere but can’t support life as it orbits too close to its sun. |
 Eight Interpretive Signs Installed at UCSB Campus Natural Areas What do stormwater management, whale migration, and inner peace have in common? They’re the subjects of a few of the newest interpretive signs around the UC Santa Barbara campus. Eight new interpretive signs now exist to inform visitors and answer common questions as they travel through different parts of the campus designated as natural areas. “We hope that our readers will be inspired to value our natural resources, learn how to care for and manage those precious resources through the signs,” said Lisa Stratton, director of ecosystem management at the UCSB Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration. |
 Fulbright Scholars Study Abroad, Others Conduct Research on Campus Communication professor Michael Stohl will make his third research trip as a Fulbright Scholar when he travels to Arhus, Denmark, next fall to teach at the Danish School of Media and Journalism. He is among a number of researchers to participate in the Fulbright Scholar Program, which is sponsored by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. During the academic year just completed, UCSB faculty members and one doctoral student received Fulbright grants to spend all or part of the year in Russia, Taiwan, Mexico, and El Salvador. In addition, the campus hosted Fulbright scholars from Brazil, Canada, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, and Germany. |
 Sociology, Political Science Scholars Analyze Supreme Court Rulings on Same-Sex Marriage The Supreme Court’s decisions to overturn a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act and to send Proposition 8, the California ban on same-sex marriage, back to the state, are a huge win for gay and lesbian rights, according to UC Santa Barbara sociology professor Verta Taylor. They mark a watershed moment in the history of gay rights, she noted, adding that the two rulings will undoubtedly pave the way for same-sex marriage in the 38 states where it is currently illegal. In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court invalidated DOMA, claiming it violated the Fifth Amendment’s protection of equal liberty. The justices declined to address the constitutionality of Proposition 8, they said, because the proponents of the law don’t have standing to bring it before the court. |
 Alzheimer’s Disease Mouse Models From UCSB’s Neuroscience Research Institute Point To A Potential Therapeutic Approach Building on research published eight years ago in the journal Chemistry and Biology, Kenneth S. Kosik, Harriman Professor in Neuroscience and co-director of the Neuroscience Research Institute (NRI) at UC Santa Barbara, and his team have applied their findings to mouse models, demonstrating a new potential target in the fight against Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. When tau, a protein normally present in the brain, morphs into an abnormal state, it contributes to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Yet no treatments for this pathway exist. Kosik’s research explores the possibility that a small class of molecules called diaminothiazoles can act as inhibitors of kinase enzymes that cause abnormal tau. The team found strong evidence that these molecules could slow the progression of the development of abnormal tau. |
| Graduate Student Researchers Selected for Annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting Three of UC Santa Barbara’s best and brightest graduate student researchers — Stephen Donaldson in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Neil Eschmann in the Department of Chemistry, and Leah Kuritzky in the Department of Materials Engineering — will be joining a delegation of nearly 550 young researchers from around the world for the annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. The weeklong event brings the world’s most highly respected scientists together with up and coming young minds for a series of discussions, lectures and get-togethers. Additionally, UCSB’s Walter Kohn, 1998 Nobel Prize recipient, is one of the speakers at this year’s meeting, which will focus on chemistry. |
 Huckleberry Finn Figures Prominently in New Book by UCSB Expert in Immigration Law and Policy If you knew that your neighbor — or your neighbor’s gardener or nanny — was an “illegal alien,” would you tell? Should you tell? The dilemma in contemporary America is similar to the one Huckleberry Finn encountered when he discovered a runaway slave named Jim. In his new book, “Illegal Migrations and the Huckleberry Finn Problem,” John S.W. Park, associate professor of Asian American Studies, explores problems of status and illegality in American law and society by examining on-going themes in American legal history, comparative ethnic studies, and American literature. |
 Sustainability Conference at UCSB Inspires Big Ideas, Promotes Best Practices It’s been said that you can’t go home again. Tell that to UC Santa Barbara-based founders of the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference, who this week brought their biggest- and best-yet event back to the campus where it was created more than a decade ago. Hoping to bring greening into greater consciousness by sharing strategies for effective storytelling around such efforts, this 12th annual event bears the theme “Declare, Demonstrate, Propagate.” Featuring research presentations, as well as case studies in curriculum development, operational programs, and community partnerships, it is intended to be an idea-sharing festival — a massive, multi-day brainstorming session of sorts — as much as a source of inspiration. |
 Sociologist Studies Issues of Privilege From a Geographical Perspective In her new book, “Geographies of Privilege” (Routledge, 2013), UC Santa Barbara sociology professor France Winddance Twine argues that physical space, geography, and locality are key to understanding how power and privilege operate in diverse national contexts. Geography and locality, she says, are central to an analysis of power or social inequality. The book is an interdisciplinary and transnational volume that includes contributions from sociologists, anthropologists, historians, cultural geographers, and ethnic studies and social justice scholars working in regions typically neglected in much of mainstream sociology. |
 New Funding Will See NCEAS Embark on New Era Dispelling myths about jellyfish blooms is among the more recent ambitious endeavors undertaken by UCSB’s National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis since its 1995 inception. The center’s latest project: making over its successful model by broadening its reach to include end users of such information in the discovery process. A $2.4 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation will enable them to do just that. Their charge to embrace use-inspired science challenges will include a soon-to-launch partnership with The Nature Conservancy and the Wildlife Conservation Society called SNAP: Science for Nature and People. |
 Black Hole Research Reveals Dusty Surprise New observations of a nearby active galaxy called NGC 3783 have given a team of astronomers — including physics postdoc Sebastian Hoenig — a surprise. Their discovery of a cool dust around a black hole, and an accompanying wind that it creates, lend intrigue to the examination of how supermassive black holes grow and evolve within galaxies. The black hole feeds its insatiable appetite from the surrounding material, but the intense radiation this produces also seems to be blowing the material away. It is still unclear how these two processes work together, but the presence of a cool, dusty wind in the polar regions adds a new piece to the picture. The work is published in the Astrophysical Journal. |
 Two Faculty Members Named Fellows of the Ecological Society of America Carla D’Antonio, Schuyler Professor of Environmental Studies, and Joshua Schimel, chair of environmental studies and professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, have been elected fellows of the Ecological Society of America (ESA). In addition, former postdoctoral associates Marissa L. Baskett and Duncan N.L. Menge of UCSB’s National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis were two of the six early career fellows, a new category created this year. The ESA, the country’s primary professional organization of ecologists representing 10,000 scientists in the United States and around the world, diligently pursues the promotion of the responsible application of ecological principles to the solution of environmental problems through its reports, journals, research, and expert testimony to Congress. |
 UCSB Alumna Pushing for Winter Olympics After Tragic Loss Former Gaucho track standout Maureen Ajoku (’12, sociology) is poised to compete in the upcoming Winter Olympics, as a member of the USA Bobsled team. Her quick ascendance is unsurprising to those who know her. Since losing both her parents in 2007, Ajoku has been driven, relentlessly, by a desire to make them proud and seize every opportunity life gives her. Hence her “leap of faith” to try bobsled for a shot at the top — the Olympic games. After making the national team on her first attempt, Ajoku is now in fifth position on a team that will take at least its top three to Sochi next February. |
 Parasites Affect the Food Web More Than You Think, Researchers Say They’re tiny and easy to overlook; in fact much of the time they are ignored. But taken collectively, parasites have a huge impact on the food web. A study undertaken by UC Santa Barbara parasitologists demonstrates just how significant parasites are when assessing who eats whom, and how complex the food web becomes when they are part of the overall picture. |
 Growing Leaders in ROTC Through its Regional Officers Training Corps (ROTC), the U.S. Army has been training officers at UCSB since 1947. Over the years Surfrider Battalion, as the UCSB unit is called, has commissioned more than 1,000 second lieutenants. By combining management theory with actual hands-on experience, Army ROTC aims to develop in its cadets self-discipline, physical stamina, and a multitude of other skills essential to commanding a unit. That the same qualities set them up for success in civilian life is an intentionally added bonus. That the same qualities set them up for success in civilian life is an intentionally added bonus. |
 Researchers Identify Mechanisms Underlying Salt-Mediated Behaviors in Fruit Flies Next time you see a fruit fly in your kitchen, don’t swat it. That fly could have a major impact on our progress in deciphering sensory biology and animal behavior, including someday providing a better understanding of the human brain. Researchers in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and the Neuroscience Research Institute have been studying the mechanisms underlying salt taste coding of fruit flies. And they have made some rather remarkable discoveries. Their findings appear in the journal Science. The work done by Craig Montell, Duggan Professor of MCDB and Neuroscience, and his team not only explains the fundamental question of how an animal chooses low salt over high salt, but also unravels the mechanism for how gustatory receptor neurons are activated by salt, an essential nutrient for all animals, including humans. |
 Rapid Adaptation is Urchins’ Weapon Against Ocean Acidification In the race against climate change and ocean acidification, some sea urchins may still have a few tricks up their spiny sleeves, suggesting that adaptation will likely play a large role for the sea creatures as the carbon content of the ocean increases. UCSB postdoctoral researcher Morgan Kelly co-authored a new study in which generations of purple sea urchins were bred in conditions mimicking the projected environment of the ocean in near the end of the century. Their findings indicate that the species will evolve greater tolerance for CO2 — and pass on that tolerance to their offspring. |
 Undergraduate Enrollment in Physics Grows by Quantum Leaps Since 2008, the number of physics undergraduates at UC Santa Barbara has skyrocketed from 34 to 153. In addition to being ranked fifth in the National Research Council rankings, the UCSB physics department also has one of the most productive bachelor’s programs in the country. According to the American Institute of Physics, the 46 bachelor’s degrees awarded per year from 2008 to 2010 puts UCSB at number eight in the country. This year, the campus will graduate about 65 physics majors, which could put UCSB third in the country. Among the qualities cited for UCSB’s rising popularity are the physics department’s consistently high rankings, a high-profile and dedicated faculty that includes three Nobel laureates, and opportunities for undergraduates to participate in cutting-edge research. |
 Study Provides a New Framework for Understanding the Energetics of Ionic Liquids Theoretically, ionic liquids — salts in liquid form — would make a good source of energy, given their abundance of positive and negative charges, and the free-flowing environment. However, these liquids have never quite lived up to that promise. A new study by UC Santa Barbara graduate student researcher Matthew Gebbie and Jacob Israelachvili, professor of chemical engineering and of materials, provides clues into a better understanding of that mystery and also a framework by which the potential properties of ionic liquids might be unlocked. |
 Music Professor’s Book Studies Noise Music in Japan Noise is a genre of music that can be hard to describe, and even harder to listen to for the uninitiated. In his book, “Japanoise: Music at the Edge of Circulation,” UCSB music professor David Novak takes on the technology, artists, and the contradictions and violated expectations that constitute the Japanese underground music scene. |
 UCSB Announces Winners of Thomas More Storke Award, Other Top Prizes for Outstanding Graduating Seniors Three remarkable graduating seniors at UC Santa Barbara have been named winners of the university’s top awards for their scholastic achievement, their extraordinary service to the university and the community, and their personal courage and persistence. Adrianna Sylva Alexandrian, of Santa Barbara, is the recipient of the Thomas More Storke Award for Excellence, the campus's highest student honor, for outstanding scholarship and extraordinary service to the university, its students, and the community. Guadalupe Cruz, of Azusa, is the recipient of the Jeremy D. Friedman Memorial Award, which recognizes outstanding leadership, superior scholarship, and contributions to undergraduate life on campus. Nayra A. Pacheco, of Santa Barbara, is the recipient of the Alyce Marita Whitted Memorial Award, which recognizes a non-traditional student's endurance, persistence, and courage in the face of extraordinary challenges while pursuing an academic degree. |
 Media Arts and Technology Scholar Receives Harold J. Plous Award Theodore Kim, Academy Award-winning assistant professor in the Department of Media Arts and Technology at UC Santa Barbara, has received the 2013-14 Harold J. Plous Award. One of the university’s most prestigious faculty honors, the award is presented annually by the College of Letters and Science to recognize an assistant professor from the humanities, social sciences, or natural sciences who has shown exceptional achievement in research, teaching, and service to the university. The award was established in 1957 to honor the memory of Harold J. Plous, an assistant professor of economics. Kim will showcase his research when he delivers the annual Plous Lecture next spring. |
 Music Professor’s Book Examines Composer Charles Ives and the Shifting American Identity Hailed as a genius and maverick, Charles Ives was as contradictory and complex as his music. In his new book, “Charles Ives in the Mirror,” assistant music professor David Paul surveys the discourse on the famous composer and the shifting American identity he reflected in his music. Paul describes Ives’s music as “full of familiar tunes that have been radically distorted,” and “often haunting and dissonant.” |
 Scientists Discover Cinnamon Compounds’ Potential Ability to Prevent Alzheimer’s It’s great in coffee and on baked goods, but can cinnamon be good for your brain as well? In a recent study, UC Santa Barbara researchers Roshni George and Don Graves found out that two compounds from cinnamon have the potential to prevent the filamentous “tangles” that characterize Alzheimer’s disease. |
 Analysis of Impact Spherules Supports Theory of Cosmic Impact A comprehensive study undertaken by Earth Science Emeritus Professor James Kennett and 28 colleagues from 24 institutions reveals new evidence in support of the theory that a cosmic collision was responsible for the Younger Dryas episode, an anomalous period of abrupt and dramatic cooling that was thought to be responsible for the mass extinction of megafauna and the decline of the Clovis culture. |
 Researchers Find Political Motivations May Have Evolutionary Links to Physical Strength In the animal world, it's pretty easy to predict who will come out on top when, say, a pair of lions go head to head over food or an attractive female. The he-man who most values the resource in question and has the brawn to fight for it will, in all likelihood, emerge victorious. Researchers at UC Santa Barbara and Aarhus University in Denmark have found that general concept also applies to humans when issues of resource distribution are on the table. Their findings appear in the current issue of the journal Psychological Science. At the level of individuals, redistribution involves a conflict over resources, so the human mind should perceive issues of economic redistribution through that lens, noted Daniel Sznycer, a postdoctoral researcher at UCSB's Center for Evolutionary Psychology and co-lead author of the paper. |
 Study Shows Where Scene Context Happens in Our Brain Though a seemingly simple and intuitive strategy, visual search function –– a process that takes mere seconds for the human brain –– is still something that a computer can't do as accurately. Over the millennia of human evolution, our brains developed a pattern of search based largely on environmental cues and scene context. It's an ability that has not only helped us find food and avoid danger in humankind’s earliest days, but continues to aid us today. Where this –– the search for objects using scene and other objects –– occurs in the brain is little understood, and is for the first time discussed in the paper, "Neural Representations of Contextual Guidance in Visual Search of Real-World Scenes," published in the Journal of Neuroscience. The researchers were led by Miguel Eckstein, professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences. |
| Feminist Studies Scholar Addresses Prophylactic Mastectomy When actress Angelina Jolie tested positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation and learned her odds of developing breast cancer could be an astronomical 87 percent, she decided to minimize the risk as much as possible by undergoing a double mastectomy. No breasts, no breast cancer. That’s the idea. But as Laury Oaks, an associate professor of feminist studies at UC Santa Barbara, notes, preventive measures that are effective and appropriate for one woman — like Jolie — might not be so for another. And even if they are appropriate, they aren’t necessarily available. |
 UCSB ‘Like Family’ Alumni Lynn (’55) and Winnie Reitnouer (’54) will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in June. They were married in 1953, in the midst of their college years at what was then called UC Santa Barbara State College. The university in many ways launched their life together, and they haven’t forgotten it. The pair have made a habit of sharing their time and money with the campus they praise as “world-class” and “like family.” An auditorium in the Intercollegiate Athletic building is named in their honor, a thanks for their longtime, generous support. |
 Arctic Tundra Research Reveals Unexpected Insight into Ecosystem Resiliency As the world eyes the Arctic nervously for the effects of global warming, UCSB researchers discover a surprising resilience in the steadily warming far north ecosystem. Despite 20 years of rising temperatures, net soil carbon, expected to decrease as the ground thaws, remains the same. |
 Scientist Studies Methane Levels in Cross-Continent Drive After taking a rented camper outfitted with special equipment to measure methane on a cross-continent drive, a UC Santa Barbara scientist has found that methane emissions across large parts of the U.S. are higher than currently known, confirming what other more local studies have found. Their research is published in the journal Atmospheric Environment. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, stronger than carbon dioxide on a 20-year timescale, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, though on a century timescale, carbon dioxide is far stronger. “This research suggests significant benefits to slowing climate change could result from reducing industrial methane emissions in parallel with efforts on carbon dioxide,” said Ira Leifer, a researcher with UCSB’s Marine Science Institute. |
 History Professor’s Book Elucidates, Celebrates ‘Visioneers’ In a fascinating new book, history professor W. Patrick McCray offers an examination of American physicist Gerard K. O’Neill and other radical innovators who never quite got their due. “The Visioneers: How a Group of Elite Scientists Pursued Space Colonies, Nanotechnologies, and a Limitless Future” (Princeton University Press, 2013) is a history of –– and, in turn, an homage to –– these "modern utopians" who believed their technologies could transform society. Equal parts visionaries and engineers, McCray's visioneers were futurists, ace self-promoters, and indefatigable optimists. Their schemes were not pie-in-the-sky; these Ivy-trained experts had hard science on their side. Yet their grand plans were never fully realized, impeded by skeptical colleagues, staid politicians, and, perhaps, their own zeal |
 Artist Favianna Rodriguez Donates Personal Papers to the UCSB Library Favianna Rodriguez, the Oakland-based activist artist best known for bold posters and digital art that explore issues of social justice, has donated her personal archive to the UC Santa Barbara Library. The Favianna Rodriguez Papers are now housed in the library's California Ethnic Multicultural Archives (CEMA). The Rodriguez archive, which currently consists of an initial installment of 31 art prints, will grow over time to include additional prints, sketches, lectures, correspondence, photographs, videos, and ephemera. “I am honored to make my art accessible in the CEMA public archive,” said Rodriguez. |
 Professor John Bowers Receives UCSB Faculty’s Top Honor John Bowers, professor of electrical and computer engineering and of materials, has been named Faculty Research Lecturer for 2013. The award is the highest bestowed by the university on one of its faculty, and Bowers is being recognized for his “groundbreaking scholarship, outstanding research contributions and scientific leadership.” |
| Cartography 2.0 Is it possible to predict when, why, and how something will go viral? What if we could identify digital tipping points before they induced potentially massive chain reactions? The answer may lie in network modeling, a way of mapping the digital landscape in order to more readily identify when a new highway is evolving — or when something, or someone, is about to go metaphorically off-road. Call it cartography 2.0. Such hypothetical solutions may soon become reality, courtesy of an ongoing project in which a group of UC Santa Barbara computer scientists is playing a key role. |
| Greening Higher Ed Registration is now under way for the 2013 California Higher Education Sustainability Conference, set for June 23-27 at UC Santa Barbara. Hoping to bring greening into greater consciousness by sharing strategies for effective storytelling around such efforts, the event will bear the theme “Communicating Sustainability.” Hosting for the sixth time, UCSB founded the now-annual affair in 2002. |
 Economic Forecast Project Summit Analyzes World, National, Santa Barbara County Economies The local, national, and international economies were the focus of the first day of the 2013 Santa Barbara County Economic Summit, an annual two-day event presented by the UCSB Economic Forecast Project. Peter Rupert, chair of the Economic Forecast Project and professor of economics, remains optimistic on the recovery of the region and the nation, while other speakers discussed the bailout and the Eurozone crisis. |
 IEE’s Summit Focuses on a Sustainable Energy Future Materials and their role in the future of energy efficiency were the focus of the 2013 UC Santa Barbara Summit on Energy Efficiency. A two-day event, the summit was a place for some of the best and brightest minds in the field to share ideas, network, and discuss the latest developments in what has become a mutual goal for science, technology, industry, and public policy. Steven Chu, the former U.S. Secretary of Energy, delivered the opening keynote address. |
 Use of Laser Light Yields Versatile Manipulation of a Quantum Bit By using light, researchers at UC Santa Barbara have manipulated the quantum state of a single atomic-sized defect in diamond — the nitrogen-vacancy center — in a method that not only allows for more unified control than conventional processes, but is more versatile, and opens up the possibility of exploring new solid-state quantum systems. |
 UCSB and The Trust for Public Land Partner to Restore Wetlands Aiming to restore and preserve the wetlands on the upper Devereux Slough — which 50 years ago was filled with topsoil to make way for a golf course — UC Santa Barbara and The Trust for Public Land are teaming to return Ocean Meadows Golf Course to its natural state. The project will ultimately open to the public an expanse of land extending some three miles along the Elwood Devereux coast in Goleta by connecting several existing preserved properties. |
 Professor Galen Stucky Elected to National Academy of Sciences Galen Stucky, professor of chemistry and materials, was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for his excellence in original scientific research. Membership in the NAS is one of the highest honors given to a scientist or engineer in the United States. Stucky will be inducted into the academy next April during its 151st annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Stucky brings to 38 the number of UCSB faculty elected to NAS. There are currently 2,179 active NAS members. Among the more renowned members are Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer, Thomas Edison, Orville Wright, and Alexander Graham Bell. Nearly 200 living academy members have won Nobel Prizes. |
 UCSB Researchers Successfully Treat Autism in Infants By modifying a form of therapy developed at UCSB’s Koegel Autism Center to treat autism spectrum disorder in children, researchers have found a way to lessen the severity of the condition in infants — and perhaps alleviate it altogether. Pivotal Response Treatment is a game playing protocol based on principles of positive motivation. As part of the treatment, parents focus on the activities their infants find most enjoyable, and avoid those that elicit a more negative response. The findings appear in the current issue of the Journal of Positive Behavioral Interventions. |
 Researcher Studies Correlation Between Changes in Hormone Levels and Sexual Motivation Among Young Women Researchers have long suspected a correlation between hormone levels and libido, but now scientists at UC Santa Barbara, led by James Roney, a professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, have actually demonstrated hormonal predictors for sexual desire. “We found two hormonal signals that had opposite effects on sexual motivation,” said Roney, the article’s lead author. The researchers’ work could eventually lead to a better model of the signals in a natural cycle, which could, in turn inform medical research. |
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Archive of Featured News
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CAMPUS TOPICS
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Current Campus Construction Impacts UC Santa Barbara is in an unprecedented era of construction and campus renewal. Facilities Management now maintains
a web site with the latest information on current campus construction and the impact such projects might have on traffic, parking, etc. WEB SITE
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Scholarship Fund Memorializes Shark Victim Lucas Ransom A scholarship fund has been established in memory of Lucas Ransom, the UCSB student who tragically lost his life in a shark attack off Surf Beach in northern Santa Barbara County. The fund will seek to assist economically disadvantaged students in engineering and in the sciences. Information on the fund and how to donate to it can be found here. Go
here for a press release about the Ransom Scholarship Fund.
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Clery Act Campus Security
Report The University of California, Santa Barbara campus safety report is published annually to provide safety policies, information and statistics to its community and to prospective students
and employees. FULL REPORT
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The Campaign for UC Santa Barbara In 2012, this comprehensive campaign to raise private funds to further UCSB’s promise of excellence, opportunity, and innovation, kicked off a new phase, with a new goal, of raising a cumulative $1 billion. Since the Campaign’s original launch in 2004 — with an initial goal of $350 million that was later expanded to $500 million — more than $700 million has already been raised, thanks to UCSB’s dedicated volunteer leaders and generous supporters.
CAMPAIGN WEB SITE
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Campus Emergency Preparedness Site UC Santa Barbara takes safety seriously, and takes a proactive approach to emergency planning. UCSB urges students, parents,
faculty and staff to become familiar with the campus response procedures and plans already in place. WEB SITE
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UCSB's Long Range Development Plan In 1990, the University updated its Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) to plan for our next 20 years. It is now time to review
the existing LRDP and revise it to address the University's plans to the year 2025. The LRDP is a planning tool that will shape how the campus will change over the next two decades, including changes
in our academic programs and the development of additional campus housing for students, faculty, and staff. WEB SITE
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Register Now for the UCSB Alert Emergency Notification System UCSB Alert is a new campus tool that will be used in the event of a campus emergency. It enables university
officials to contact you during an emergency by sending text messages to your e-mail account, cell phone, or smartphone or other handheld device. UCSB Alert is your connection to real-time updates, instructions
on where to go, what to do or what not to do, who to contact and other important information. Register on the UCSB Alert WEB SITE.
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The UCSB Portrait A pdf document with a wide range of background information about the campus for prospective students and parents. The information
is presented in a format similar to that used by many colleges and universities, making it easy to compare important characteristics of our educational program. The portrait also provides many live links
to campus Web sites and serves as a gateway to deeper understanding of UC Santa Barbara.
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Communications from the President A new edition of the Our
University newsletter from the UC Office of the President has just been released and is available online. OUR UNIVERSITY
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