Chris Nebergall

May 21, 2013

A Nostalgic Gaucho Contemplates Time Travel

By Chris Nebergall

Writing my final Gaucho’s Guide column fills me with musings on the passage of time. As such, it’s only fitting that today we talk about time travel. Time travel logic is notoriously difficult to get right, and in fa...

February 27, 2013

Theoretical Physicist Expounds on Potential For String Theory To Explain Mechanics of Universe

By Chris Nebergall

On Monday evening, UCSB Arts & Lectures hosted a lecture in Campbell Hall featuring prominent string theorist Brian Greene called “Explaining the Elegant Universe.” Greene is known for popularizing theoretical ph...

February 19, 2013

Life Finds A Way: The Evolutionary Science Behind Jurassic Park Dinosaurs

By Chris Nebergall

This spring, Steven Spielberg’s dino-adventure classic “Jurassic Park” will be turning 20, and Universal will be celebrating by re-releasing the movie in 3D. That’s all in anticipation of 2014’s “Jurassic Par...

February 4, 2013

UCSB Neuroscientists Receive New Device To Aid Genetics Research

By Chris Nebergall

UCSB’s Neuroscience Research Institute recently acquired an innovative gene sequencer that is capable of sequencing the human genome — a task that used to take years — in a matter of hours. A gene sequencer allows ...

January 29, 2013

“Prometheus” Steals Fire From The Gods of Crackpot Science

By Chris Nebergall

Last summer, “Prometheus,” the long-anticipated prequel to the “Alien” franchise, was marketed as a thought-provoking science fiction film. What we got was a classic sci-fi trope with some added references to act...

November 13, 2012

NASA Attempts to Take the Science Fiction Out of Warp Drive

By Chris Nebergall

Whether or not you know anything about “Star Trek,” you’ve probably heard of the warp drive, that fictional technology that can fling a starship light-years away in mere minutes, opening up the universe to our expl...

October 18, 2012

New Campaign Launches to Promote Water Conservation Throughout Santa Barbara Area

By Chris Nebergall

The Santa Barbara County Water Agency, part of the Network of Santa Barbara County Water Providers is launching a new campaign, titled Water-Wise, to promote water conservation throughout the county. The centerpiece of t...

October 9, 2012

UCSB To Reduce Carbon Emissions With Fuel Cell Technology

By Chris Nebergall

UCSB is now home to project Bloom Energy Server, a new type of solid oxide fuel cell technology that dramatically increases power generation efficiency by converting fuel into electricity. Producing over 1.75 million kil...

June 8, 2012

Event To Highlight Engineering Projects

By Chris Nebergall

The College of Engineering will showcase student projects today and tomorrow during its free, annual Senior Capstone exposition. Senior engineering students in the Capstone Design class spend September through June under...

May 31, 2012

Study Tests Cure for Alzheimer’s

By Chris Nebergall

Neuroscience researchers will launch a project analyzing the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in a five-year-long study beginning next year, with research focusing primarily on prevention of the illness rather than pos...

May 16, 2012

LED Researchers Propose New Design to Correct for Inefficient ‘Drooping’

By Chris Nebergall

The UCSB Solid State Lighting and Energy Center research team, led by engineering professors Shuji Nakamura and Steven DenBaars, presented a new energy-efficient design for LED manufacturing at the Conference on Lasers a...

April 25, 2012

Mercury Probe Completes Orbit

By Chris Nebergall

The MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) space- craft recently completed an orbital survey of the planet Mercury, con- cluding a decade-long phase of the project. MESSENGER is now on a...

April 17, 2012

UCSB Scientists Detect Signals Between Microorganisms

By Chris Nebergall

UCSB researchers discovered an elaborate form of bacterial communication between Escherichia coli bacterium earlier this year, marking the first observed instance of coordination between bacterial organisms. The organism...

February 28, 2012

UCSB Group To Aid Nepalese Village

By Chris Nebergall

The UCSB chapter of student-based initiative Nourish International will travel to Nepal this summer to provide basic necessities and construct new school buildings in an impoverished village. The organization, introduced...

February 22, 2012

Faculty Member Honored as Fellow

By Chris Nebergall

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation named assistant professor of Chemical Engineering Michael Shell as one of its Sloan Research Fellows last week, awarding him two annual grants of $50,000 each. Shell was recognized for his ...

February 16, 2012

Study Attributes Ape Deaths to Human Viruses

By Chris Nebergall

Researchers at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis on campus recently discovered the missing variable in the mysterious population decline among endangered African great apes. The scientists’ find...