Science & Tech

August 22, 2012

Curiosity Arrives on the Red Planet

By Andrea Weinstein

The latest Mars rover Curiosity departed from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station last November and landed safely on the surface of the Red Planet on Aug. 5, 2012 making it the fourth American rover successfully sent to Mar...

August 22, 2012

UCSB Environmental Research Teams Spearhead Groundbreaking Projects

By Staff Report

Urban Water Contamination Study Backed by a $1.25 million contribution from veteran water industry exec- utive Henry Wheeler, Jr., UCSB Bren School of Environmental Science and Management Environmental micro- biology pro...

May 29, 2012

UCSB Lecturer Creates Visual Arts-Based Physics Teaching System

By Andrea Weinstein

Jatila van der Veen, a lecturer in the College of Creative Studies as well as a research associate in UCSB’s Physics Dept., created a new method in teaching introductory physics called “Noether Before Newton.” The ...

May 29, 2012

The Down Low on Dopamine

By Kiyan Rajabi

Do you find yourself taking Facebook breaks every five minutes? Well, it may just be your human nature. According to a recent study conducted by Vanderbilt University, researchers found the neurotransmitter dopamine is c...

May 22, 2012

Astronomers Use New Technique to Study the Expansion of Black Holes

By Kyle Naughton

An international team of astronomers in Chile employed three powerful telescopes to peer into the heart of a galaxy tens of millions of light years away. The astronomers observed the hot accretion disk of matter falling ...

May 22, 2012

Updated Marine Mapping Program Near Completion

By Daniel Saleh

UCSB Marine Science Institute project scientist Will McClintock is currently completing SeaSketch, a new version of the free web-based marine mapping and spatial planning program, MarineMap. The program was relatively li...

May 15, 2012

UCSB Researchers Identify Semi-Conductor Polymers, Further Printable Electronics

By Daniel Saleh

UCSB researchers teamed up with North Carolina State physicists to determine why certain materials are better than others for use in printable electronics. Through the use of powerful X-rays that can be used to see down ...

May 15, 2012

How Spicing Up Your Plate Can Spice Up Your Health: The Truth About Peppers

By Kiyan Rajabi

Watch out salt, pepper just got even spicier! For most of our post-Gerber days, many of us have been aimlessly smothering black pepper on our meals to enhance its taste. Although this act is immediately delectable to the...

May 1, 2012

When Tech and Health Collide: LOL-ing and Driving

By Kiyan Rajabi

Texting while driving has become NBD. In fact, data from the University of California, San Diego’s Trauma Epidemiology & Injury Prevention Research Center suggests this act is quite widespread among college student...

April 24, 2012

UCSB Mechanical Engineering Professor Launches Investigation on Fluid Dynamics of Coffee Spills

By Kyle Naughton

Upon observing colleagues struggle to keep their coffee from spilling at a math conference, UCSB professor of mechanical engineering Rouslan Krechetnikov began a research project to study this phenomenon. Krechetnikov’...

April 17, 2012

UCSB Study on Bolivian Tribe Links Competition to Testosterone Levels

By Evan Crook

A recent study conducted by anthropologists from UCSB and the University of Washington found that Tsimane men of Bolivia have a baseline testosterone level 33 percent lower than that of American men. Their findings appea...

April 17, 2012

Exercise Your Brain Power: The Smarter Study Break

By Kiyan Rajabi

Contrary to popular belief, research suggests that not all procrastination is bad. In fact, hitting the gym before the books may actually help commit the dreaded Krebs cycle to memory. Conventional health advice consiste...

April 10, 2012

Tech Talk: Quantum Computing Research Makes Waves

By Alexander Lyte

If you’re a gadget-lover like me, you probably consider yourself fairly tech-savvy. In fact, you probably use technology your parents never dreamed of and don’t give it much thought. However, with the rapid technolog...

April 3, 2012

Health’s Newest Pop Sensation: The Latest on Popcorn’s Nutritional Benefits

By Kiyan Rajabi

In recent years, dieticians and health experts have recommended popcorn as a healthy substitute for sweets because of its low fat content and its high insoluble fiber. New findings from the University of Scranton suggest...

April 3, 2012

UCSB’s Free-Electron Laser Plays Critical Role in Electron-Hole Recollision Experiment

By Andrea Weinstein

UCSB professor and director of the Institute for Terahertz Science and Technology Mark Sherwin and his research group recently demonstrated how the recollision of electrons produced multiple frequencies of light using hi...

March 6, 2012

UCSB Research May Aid Development of New MRI and Quantum Technology

By Andrea Weinstein

Potential advances in MRI technology on the nanoscale as well as in the field of quantum computing are closer to being realized, according to a recent UCSB study. UCSB assistant physics professor Ania Jayich co-authored ...