UCSB receives $20 million grant to create cloud laboratory
October 9, 2026 at 2:00 pm
The United States National Science Foundation has awarded UC Santa Barbara a $20 million grant to build one of the nation’s 20 programmable cloud laboratory nodes.
The four-year grant will fund the creation of a Computation-Optimized Automated Soft materials Technology Programmable Cloud Laboratory (COAST PCL), an automated, centralized research facility that scientists around the country can access remotely. Cloud laboratories have been used in various research fields, including genetic engineering.
Cloud laboratories use machine learning to predict experimental outcomes with AI algorithms that help researchers analyze large sets of data.
UCSB’s facility will specifically be used for polymer and soft-materials research. According to The Current, the laboratory will help preserve information that polymer science “routinely loses,” which will create a collection of research that scientists around the country can utilize.
UCSB’s OASIS laboratory will now be open to research scientists around the country to access its equipment. The OASIS laboratory has operated in Goleta since fall 2025, which includes student researchers. A vetting process is now in place for researchers who apply to work remotely at the facility.
COAST PCL will be built around BioPACIFIC MIP research infrastructure at OASIS. BioPACIFIC MIP is a materials innovation platform funded by the National Science Foundation and led by UCSB and UC Los Angeles. Researchers can apply for access to synthesis and characterization instruments, and then work with staff to plan experiments, operate equipment and interpret results.
This summer, 24th District Congressman Salud Carbajal announced the awarded grant to the Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering faculty, congratulating UCSB by stating, “This is a big freaking deal.”
A version of this article appeared on p. 4 of the Oct. 9 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
