The Daily Nexus looks back at this year’s highlights, from Nobel Prize winner Shuji Nakamura to the May 23 memorial events that were illuminated by blue LEDs that Nakamura invented.

McLane Brown/Daily Nexus

Materials and electrical and computer engineering professor Shuji Nakamura was awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics on Oct. 7 along with Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano for the invention of the first blue light-emitting diode (LED). McLane Brown/Daily Nexus

Lorenzo Basilio/Daily Nexus

Approximately 5,000 students gathered at Storke Plaza on Oct. 8, 2014 for a “Come Together: Remember, Reconnect, & Unite” concert to promote a safer community in commemoration of the six students who lost their lives during the events of May 23 last year. UCSB Alumnus Jack Johnson performed at the event along with several student groups and artists.Lorenzo Basilio/Daily Nexus

Lorenzo Basilio/Daily Nexus

The Associated Students Program Board hosted alternative rock band Young the Giant in the Thunderdome during a rained-out Halloween night on Oct. 31, 2014. The band performed in adult diapers and bibs, donning costumes to immerse the audience in the spirit of the iconic Isla Vista party weekend. Lorenzo Basilio/Daily Nexus

Stephen Manga/Daily Nexus

Students held a rally on Nov. 20, 2014 against proposed tuition hikes by the University of California Board of Regents, which called for an annual 5 percent increase in tuition over the next five years due to a lack of state funding for the UC. Stephen Manga/Daily Nexus

Stephen Manga/Daily Nexus

Assemblymember Das Williams introduced Assembly Bill 3 (AB 3) to the California State Assembly on Dec. 1, 2014 to create a Community Services District (CSD) in Isla Vista to provide infrastructure and increased resources to the residents of the community. Stephen Manga/Daily Nexus

Kenneth Song/Daily Nexus

The Isla Vista Tenants Union (IVTU) announced the beginning of a campaign on Jan. 20, 2015 to provide financial assistance to five households allegedly evicted from Abrego Villas on 6754 and 6764 Abrego Road in I.V. in Oct. 2014. Kenneth Song/Daily Nexus

Paris Cullen/Daily Nexus

Beta Theta Pi and Phi Sigma Kappa fraternities lost their charters during the 2014-2015 school year in December and February, respectively, due to various charges concerning alleged violations of university policy. Paris Cullen/Daily Nexus

Lorenzo Basilio/Daily Nexus

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) installed a mural wall in the Arbor on April 6, 2015 leading up to an A.S. Senate decision on whether to pass a resolution calling for the university to divest from businesses profiting from alleged human rights violations in Palestine. Lorenzo Basilio/Daily Nexus

Lorenzo Basilio/Daily Nexus

Two UCSB students were hospitalized after a domestic disturbance which resulted in shots being fired at Sabado Tarde Road on May 11, 2015. Two suspects, 19-year-old Jose Guadalupe Gutierrez of Goleta and 22-year-old James Joshua Taylor of Lompoc, were arrested and booked for charges including attempted murder, robbery and participation in a criminal street gang. Lorenzo Basilio/Daily Nexus

Alex Messick/Daily Nexus

The annual end-of-the-year Extravaganza concert put on by the A.S. Program Board brought performers Bad Rabbits, AlunaGeorge, Joey Bada$$, Madeon and headliner Miguel to Harder Stadium on May 17, 2015 for a six-hour-long music festival dedicated to a mixture of popular and upcoming artists. Alex Messick/Daily Nexus

Stephen Manga/Daily Nexus

Stephen Manga/Daily Nexus

Stephen Manga/Daily Nexus

Stephen Manga/Daily Nexus

Lorenzo Basilio/Daily Nexus

A group of students headed by survivors of sexual assault Alejandra Melgoza, Lexi Weyrick and Melissa Vasquez staged a 13-hour sit-in of Chancellor Henry T. Yang’s office from May 13, 2015 to May 14, 2015 to demand specific policies to improve the handling of sexual assault cases, concluding the night with a signature from Yang ensuring the enactment of 13 sanctions in favor of survivors. Lorenzo Basilio/Daily Nexus

Lorenzo Basilio/Daily Nexus

University administration, Associated Students and several student groups held May 23 memorial events illuminated by Shuji Nakamura’s blue LED lights to unify the community and commemorate the six lives lost in the events of May 23 last year. Lorenzo Basilio/Daily Nexus

*Correction: A previous version of this article stated professor Shuji Nakamura was a colleague of Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano. They are co-recipients of the Nobel Prize, but have never worked together; thus, they are not colleagues.

Print
Daily Nexus Photography
A cool team of photographers who preserves the visual memory of UCSB and Isla Vista. The photo editor can be reached at photo@dailynexus.com.