Giving

Questions about giving? 

Please contact Steve Ramirez at steve.ramirez@ucsb.edu, Lead Director of Development for Engineering, or call (805) 893-4579 if you have any questions or requests about giving.

The Materials Department at UC Santa Barbara aims to solve forefront challenges for society including energy efficient lighting and electronics, energy storage, advanced aircraft, quantum materials and computing, and health through new materials development and discovery. The Department prides itself on educating the next generation of engineers and scientists who will push the frontiers of materials innovation in fields as diverse as advanced semiconductor materials, quantum materials, structural materials, and biological/soft materials. The Department has a strong commitment to cross-cutting research that attracts the brightest, most talented, and diverse community of students to our graduate program. Through charitable giving to the Department, our alumni and friends help us continue to cultivate the collaborative culture, the hallmark of UCSB Materials, that attracts the students who will become today’s leaders for tomorrow’s materials.  

FUNDRAISING PRIORITIES

Current use gifts allow for immediate distribution and impact. Endowed faculty chairs, fellowships and scholarships provide funding in perpetuity to help UCSB compete for the best and brightest faculty, graduate students and undergraduates – now and in the future. Our current priorities for fundraising include:

GRADUATE STUDENT FELLOWSHIPS AND DEVELOPMENT FUND

The Materials Department strives to attract a diverse group of the world’s best students for graduate research, as well as the brightest postdocs capable of driving innovation. Fellowships allow us to enhance the diversity of the Department and can transform the long-term outcomes for students. Development funding allows us to attract the best and brightest students by offering exceptional development experiences beyond the laboratory and classroom, including international research exchanges, internships, travel to international conferences, and leadership development experiences. In spite of their importance, these activities cannot be supported by conventional research contracts. 

HONORARY LECTURESHIPS FOR LEADERS IN MATERIALS SCIENCE

To maintain its top ranking, the Materials Department must recruit and retain the best faculty. The Department seeks to raise funding to continue the Nakamura and Lange Lecture series that draw junior and established faculty members. The Department is also seeking support for a lectureship for post-doctoral researchers to help make ties at an early stage to emerging leaders in materials science.

FRONTIER INSTRUMENTATION

The Materials Department is the hub of a number of core facilities housing scientific instruments that is essential for research in new materials by UCSB faculty and visitors from around the globe. Instrumentation allows researchers and students to peer into materials at the level of atoms, to discover new phenomena and to push material to their limits. Facilities supporting areas such as state-of-the-art electron microscopy with atomic resolution, synthesis of new materials, and real-time characterization of materials in use are essential for continued success. Private funding and in-kind gifts of instrumentation have the potential of launching new fields of materials research and addressing grand challenges for society at UCSB.

ENDOWED CHAIRS

Global competition for the best faculty members is intense. An impactful way of identifying and recruiting the best future faculty members is through named lectureships and endowed chairs. Both serve as excellent tools for engaging emerging leaders in varied fields of materials research and attracting them to UC Santa Barbara. Endowed funds for each provide donors with a lifetime recognition for their investment and for their impact in promoting a world leading program of materials research.

How to Give

Online

Gifts to the department can be made by credit card through our online giving website

By Mail
To make a gift by mail (via check or credit card) or to designate your gift to a specific purpose, please print and complete the pdf donation form and return to 

Steve Ramirez
Development Services Manager
Engineering and the Sciences
UC Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-6035

By Phone

You may also make a credit card gift by phone. Contact Steve Ramirez at (805) 893-4579.

Matching Gifts

Many employers sponsor corporate matching gift programs and will match any charitable contributions that their employees or spouses make. Matching gift programs can double or possibly triple your donation. Please obtain your company’s matching gift form and return it with your contribution.

Wire Transfers or Securities (Stock)

For information about making a contribution via wire transfer or gifts of securities, please contact Steve Ramirez at steve.ramirez@ucsb.edu or (805) 893-4579.

Planned Giving/Estate Gifts

For information about making a gift through planned giving vehicles such as charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, gift annuities, bequests, or other vehicles please visit UC Santa Barbara’s Planned Giving website.

Test 4/13/23