News

  • May 3
    2022
    National Academy of Sciences Elects Members and International Members WASHINGTON — The National Academy of Sciences announced today the election of 120 members and 30 international members in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Those elected today bring the total number of active members to 2,512 and the total number of... read more »
  • Apr 18
    2022
    In its new ranking of leading graduate and professional programs at American universities, U.S. News & World Report magazine has rated two of UC Santa Barbara’s programs among the top 10 in the nation. In the 2023 U.S. News list of “Best Graduate Schools,” UC Santa Barbara’s materials program is ranked No. 2 among public institutions and No. 5 overall. The chemical... read more »
  • Mar 19
    2022
    Prof. Sriram Krishnamoorthy has received the "Most Valuable Presentation" at the Workshop on Compound Semiconductor Materials & Devices (WOCSEMMAD) 2022. WOCSEMMAD is a premier workshop in the US on high performance electronic materials. His presentation was on "Advances in Epitaxial Gallium (Aluminum) Oxide Thin Films and Heterostructure Materials and Devices" and... read more »
  • Jan 18
    2022
    John Harter, an assistant professor of materials at UC Santa Barbara, has received an Early CAREER award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the highest honor given by the foundation to junior faculty. Harter will receive more than $715,000 over five years in support of his cutting-edge research in quantum materials science and educational... read more »
  • Dec 14
    2021
    Professor Tresa Pollock has been elected as Membre D'honneur of the Société Française de Métallurgie et de Matériaux (SF2M). The title of honorary member constitutes a distinction intended to honor eminent scientists, engineers or technicians who have rendered outstanding service in the fields of the association. Only one person is elected as an honorary member per year.... read more »
  • Dec 7
    2021
    Materials assistant professors Angela Pitenis and Raphaële Clément are the latest UC Santa Barbara engineering junior faculty to receive Early CAREER awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The award is regarded as the NSF’s most prestigious award for assistant professors and recognition that they are effectively integrating... read more »
  • Nov 16
    2021
    Please join me in congratulating our faculty who were recognized on the 2021 Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher List. The annual list identifies researchers in the sciences and social sciences who demonstrated significant influence in their respective field or fields through publication of multiple highly cited papers during the past decade.     This year's list includes... read more »
  • Nov 10
    2021
    The Frontiers of Energy UC Santa Barbara professor Shuji Nakamura(link is external) is the recipient of the 3rd Annual Richard J. Goldstein Energy Lecture Award(link is external) from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Established in 2019, the award recognizes “pioneering contributions to the frontiers of energy, leading to breakthroughs in existing... read more »
  • Nov 10
    2021
    UC Santa Barbara Materials welcomes Assistant Professor Sriram Krishnamoorthy to the Department. Professor Sriram Krishnamoorthy is an inaugural recipient of the Mehrabian Career Development Chair.  The Mehrabian Career Development Chairs are endowed chairs in the College of Engineering that recognize early career faculty who are rising stars in their field. Dr.... read more »
  • Oct 23
    2021
                                                                    
  • Oct 19
    2021
    UCSB Graduate Students earn DOE awards to conduct their research at national labs Two UC Santa Barbara graduate students in the College of Engineering have received opportunities to conduct research at prestigious national laboratories operated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Eli Zoghlin and Kamyar Parto are among 65 students nationwide selected... read more »
  • Sep 21
    2021
    UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry T. Yang announced the appointment of Materials Professor Tresa Pollock as the interim Dean of the College of Engineering. Her appointment, which follows the retirement of Dr. Rod Alferness, which will become effective today, September 21, after ten years of extraordinary service and leadership. The appointment of Dr. Pollock, ALCOA... read more »
  • Sep 7
    2021
    Juan Chamorro, a postdoctoral researcher in UC Santa Barbara’s Materials Department, has received a Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (MPS-Ascend) from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The prestigious fellowship amounts to $100,000 per year for up to three years. The program supports outstanding future scientists who will... read more »
  • Sep 1
    2021
    Mikayla Barry, a graduate student in Prof. Rachel Segalman's group, recently presented her work at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Advanced Light Source (LBNL ALS) to US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.   Mikayla is researching the properties of advanced membranes for water purification using the ALS Ambient Pressure X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer to... read more »
  • Aug 20
    2021
    The Department is happy to announce the first recipients of the Bright Horizon Global Foundation Materials Department Service Awards. These annual awards recognize students and post-doctoral researchers within the Materials Department for contributions that help to improve our sense of community and to assist in the educational mission beyond expectations. We are... read more »
  • Aug 4
    2021
    Researchers around the world are buzzing about a candidate superconductor created at UCSB’s NSF Quantum Foundry. Since receiving a $25 million grant in 2019 to become the first National Science Foundation (NSF) Quantum Foundry, UC Santa Barbara researchers affiliated with the foundry have been working to develop materials that can enable quantum information–based... read more »
  • Jun 29
    2021
    Professor Steven DenBaars of Materials and of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been chosen by the American Association for Advances in Functional Materials (AAFM) as one of two recipients of its 2021 AAFM-Nakamura Award. Named for Nobel Prize winner Shuji Nakamura, also a UCSB professor, the award recognizes “an outstanding scientist in the field of functional... read more »
  • Jun 11
    2021
    Professor John Harter receives a 2021-2022 Hellman Family Faculty Fellowship. "The purpose of the Hellman Fellows program is to provide substantial support for the research of promising assistant professors who have served at least two years at the assistant professor level, and who show capacity for great distinction in their research. John’s proposal is titled “... read more »
  • May 24
    2021
    Materials graduate student Caroline Reilly has been selected as a 2021 recipient of the University Award of Distinction, given to students who have contributed greatly to the quality of life by giving unselfish service to others within a particular area. She will receive the honor at the Virtual University Awards Ceremony on June 6th at 3:00PM. Congratulations Caroline!
  • May 11
    2021
    Prof. John Bowers received the 2021 International Conference on Indium Phosphide and Related Materials (IPRM) Award. He was cited "For contribution to the development of III-V/Si photonics and heterogeneous integration techniques with the pioneering demonstration of hybrid indium phosphide/Si laser."   The IPRM Award recognizes individuals who have made "outstanding... read more »
  • May 11
    2021
    A CATALYST OF CHANGE Materials PhD student Julia Zuo receives Dixon-Levy Service Award from UCSB’s Graduate Student Association for her efforts to improve graduate student life Read More MEETING OF THE MINDS George Degen and Samuel Teicher are among thirty young scientists from the University of California invited to an annual meeting with dozens of Nobel Laureates... read more »
  • May 11
    2021
    Prof. Steve DenBaars received the 2021 Quantum Devices Award of the International Symposium on Compound Semiconductors.  He was cited "For the development and commercialization of non-polar and semi-polar quantum well laser diodes in laser lighting, automotive and general illumination”   The Quantum Devices Award was established in 2000 by Fujitsu Quantum Devices, Ltd  ... read more »
  • Apr 30
    2021
       Researchers in the materials department in UC Santa Barbara’s College of Engineering have uncovered a major cause of limitations to efficiency in a new generation of solar cells.    Various possible defects in the lattice of what are known as hybrid perovskites had previously been considered as the potential cause of such limitations, but it was assumed that the... read more »
  • Apr 30
    2021
    Prof. Chris Bates has been selected to recieve The Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholars Award for 2021. The reward is awarded to faculty within the first five years of their academic careers, and have each created an outstanding independent body of scholarship, and are deeply committed to education. Each Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar receives an unrestricted research grant... read more »
  • Apr 26
    2021
    Professor Angela Pitenis has received the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award.  The NSF CAREER award is the NSF’s most prestigious award for junior faculty who are effectively integrating research and education. Her project is titled “Dynamics of Fragile Interfaces” and it will support her efforts on understanding lubricity in... read more »