MLPS Department Highlights from 2024 to 2025

• Yang Yang, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, received the 2024 Novartis Early Career Award in Chemistry for his innovative work in enzyme engineering and radical catalysis. The award includes two years of funding and an invitation to present at Novartis' research campuses.

• Chemistry professor Justin Wilson and postdoctoral researcher Yangyang Gao led a team that has developed a safer, more efficient method to separate rare earth elements like dysprosium and neodymium at room temperature without toxic solvents. Published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, their technique uses a specialized chelator to achieve more than 800-fold concentration in a single cycle, greatly improving recycling from electronic waste and reducing chemical waste compared to traditional methods.

• Andrea S. Carlini, assistant professor of chemistry, has been awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award for her pioneering work on bio-compatible, responsive materials. Her lab is developing innovative polymers that can detect and monitor disease biomarkers in real time, enabling continuous, non-invasive tracking of conditions like cancer recurrence and tissue rejection. The award recognizes her efforts to bridge fundamental chemistry with biomedical applications, with the potential to transform personalized medicine.

• James Kennett, geologist and professor emeritus of Earth Science, co-authored a study using hydrocode modeling to simulate an asteroid or comet airburst and its effects on Earth’s surface. Published in Scientific Reports, the models support the hypothesis that an airburst could explain the widespread destruction at Tall el-Hammam, an ancient Bronze Age city near the Dead Sea, where signs of meltglass, shocked quartz, and unusual salt concentrations have fueled speculation about a cosmic event. 

• David Valentine, professor of Earth Science, has co-led the investigation into DDT dumping off Southern California, uncovered by a 2011 discovery during a research cruise. The documentary “Out of Plain Sight,” which chronicles this investigation, won the Audience Choice Award at the 2025 Santa Barbara International Film Festival and is gaining national attention. The film explores the environmental and health impacts of DDT, highlighting its ongoing effects on marine life and human health.

• UC Santa Barbara has received $1.3 million from the W. M. Keck Foundation to fund a multi-campus study of coral regeneration and resilience. Adrian Stier, professor of ecology, evolution and marine biology, is lead researcher for the project. The team, which includes researchers from the University of Kentucky and UC Davis, will use molecular assays and thermal stress experiments to investigate how corals heal and respond to environmental threats. Findings will inform strategies for protecting and restoring coral reefs.

• Douglas McCauley, professor of ecology, evolution, and marine biology, and director of the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory, is leading a project to predict great white shark presence along California beaches. The team, using drones to monitor shark populations at Padaro Beach, found that water temperature, time of day, and season correlated with shark density, with juveniles preferring warmer surface waters. The project, published in Marine Ecology Progress Series, aims to improve beach safety and shark conservation efforts, while also offering real-time data to the public through text notifications.

• Additionally, Professor McCauley co-authored a study in the journal Science with Roland Geyer, professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, outlining a plan to eliminate plastic pollution by 2050. The research, supported by an AI-powered policy tool, identifies four key global policies that could reduce plastic waste by 91% and cut related greenhouse gas emissions by one-third. The findings aim to inform final negotiations of a United Nations treaty on plastic pollution.

• Lauren Smith, postdoctoral researcher in the Froehlich Lab, received UCSB’s inaugural Postdoc Award of Excellence in Mentorship for her leadership in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology. She was recognized for fostering a collaborative research culture and mentoring students across disciplines. (Also listed under Physics)

• Associate professor of Marine Science Adrian Stier co-authored an essay in Current Biology showing that small reef inhabitants, like damselfish, can help corals survive heat stress by providing nutrients and protection. However, parasitic species and aggressive crabs threaten coral health, making understanding these interactions key to reef conservation amid climate change.

• Former doctoral student Kai Kopecky and professors Russ Schmitt and Sally Holbrook of the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology found that dead coral skeletons left behind after bleaching events in Moorea, French Polynesia hinder reef regeneration by sheltering seaweed, which outcompetes coral for space. The research, published in Global Change Biology, shows how the structures left by coral bleaching events allow algae to outcompete young coral by preventing herbivores from grazing.

• A study on roadkill, co-authored by Lisa Stratton, lecturer in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology and director of the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration, has contributed to a $10 million wildlife crossing project at Gaviota Pass. The project, spearheaded by Caltrans, will expand a culvert under Highway 1 to improve connectivity for animals like bears and cougars between coastal areas and Los Padres National Forest. Funded by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the initiative aims to reduce vehicle-animal collisions and preserve local biodiversity.

• A global study published in Nature, co-authored by Geography professor Kelly Caylor, maps groundwater-dependent ecosystems, vital refuges for life in dry regions, and reveals that over half face groundwater depletion while only 21% lie within protected areas. Using satellite data and machine learning, the research highlights the urgent need for improved groundwater management to conserve these ecosystems and support both biodiversity and human livelihoods amid climate change.

• Human geographer David López-Carr has received a grant from the NSF to study human adaptation to land degradation and identify regions of resilience. López-Carr, along with co-principal investigators from Brown University and Mississippi State University, will use household surveys, community-level interviews, and drone imagery to examine factors contributing to sustainable livelihoods and forest conservation in areas affected by land degradation. The research aims to uncover strategies for resilience that can be applied to other vulnerable regions, especially in tropical forest ecosystems.

• Zhe Li, a doctoral graduate, and his advisor, climate scientist and associate professor of  geography Qinghua Ding, published research in Science Advance showing that atmospheric rivers are shifting toward the poles, potentially altering global precipitation patterns.

• UC Santa Barbara has joined the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), a consortium of over 120 institutions advancing Earth system science. The partnership enhances UCSB’s role in collaborative research on climate, oceans and the atmosphere. Associate professor of geography Qinghua Ding will serve as a UCSB representative to UCAR, with Samantha Stevenson-Karl, associate professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management.

• A team of undergraduate students led by Pico Gilman ‘27 and including Om Mahesh ’28 and Victor Bernal Ramirez ’27 placed fifth out of 477 universities in the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, North America’s top undergraduate math contest. 

• Postdoctoral fellow Anindya Ganguly has received an Early Career Research Award from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders to study how animals sense osmotic properties of food. Ganguly’s research, based in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and the Neuroscience Research Institute, aims to understand how osmotic stress influences feeding behavior and fluid balance. His findings could inform both biological hydration mechanisms and strategies for pest control.

• Neurobiologist and systems biologist, Sung Soo Kim, co-authored research that reconstructed the entire anterior visual pathway of a fruit fly. The study, published in Nature, reveals the intricate neural connections between the insect's eyes and its brain's navigation center, offering insights into animal navigation. The research also highlights how these findings could influence computational models for autonomous vehicle navigation.

• Additionally, Professor Sung Soo Kim received the 2024 McKnight Scholar Award for his pioneering work mapping neural circuits underlying animal navigation. Using a virtual reality setup for fruit flies, Kim investigates how visual cues like polarized light are processed in the brain to guide wayfinding, a discovery with potential applications in autonomous navigation and neurological disease research.

• Denise Montell, Duggan Professor and distinguished professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, received her second NIH Pioneer Award, securing $5.5 million for immune therapy research. The award supports her lab’s development of treatments for cancer and antibiotic-resistant infections through high-risk, high-reward biomedical science.

• Meghan Morrissey, assistant professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, and doctoral student Annalise Bond have discovered a new way to enhance cancer therapies by "priming" macrophage immune cells. Published in Developmental Cell, their work shows that light-activated receptors can trigger macrophages to eat more cancer cells by increasing their “appetite,” thus boosting the efficacy of antibody-based treatments like Rituximab for lymphoma.

• Craig Montell, Duggan Professor and distinguished professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, and his lab team discovered that male mosquitoes genetically modified to be deaf do not mate. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, identifies the gene trpVa as essential for auditory-driven mating behavior in Aedes aegypti.

• Additionally, a team of researchers led by Professor Montell, have discovered that mosquitoes can detect infrared radiation from body heat to help locate human hosts. This finding could lead to better methods for controlling mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue. Their results were published in the journal Nature.

• Physics professor Andrea Young received a $2 million National Brown Investigator Award to advance his research on topological quantum computing. His work aims to create more stable quantum systems using nonabelian anyons, quasi-particles that could significantly reduce errors in quantum bits.

• Tamas Almos Vami, postdoctoral scholar in the Incandela High Energy Physics Lab, received UCSB’s inaugural Postdoc Award of Excellence in Leadership for his contributions to research and mentorship in the Department of Physics. His work exemplifies cross-disciplinary collaboration and excellence in postdoctoral scholarship. (Also listed under Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology)

• Physicists Xiao Luo and Chenhao Jin received 2024 Sloan Research Fellowships for innovative work on neutrino physics and ultrafast quantum imaging; chemistry faculty Vojtech Vlcek and Yang Yang were also honored for their research in quantum systems and catalytic reactions.

• Physics professor Andrew Jayich was named a 2024 Experimental Physics Investigator by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, receiving a five-year, $1.25 million grant to explore the fundamental mysteries of matter. Jayich’s research aims to solve the matter-antimatter imbalance by searching for an electron's permanent electric dipole moment, a potential clue to new particles and interactions that could break time-reversal symmetry.

• Chetan Nayak, director of Microsoft Station Q and professor of physics, led a team that unveiled the first eight-qubit topological quantum processor. This breakthrough, published in Nature, utilizes Majorana zero modes within a topological superconductor, marking a major step toward more stable and fault-tolerant quantum computers. The achievement builds on decades of collaboration at UCSB, advancing the pursuit of practical quantum computing.

• PhD student Laura Pritschet, lead author and researcher in the lab of Professor Emily Jacobs, has uncovered key insights into the brain’s changes during pregnancy with the first-ever detailed mapping of a human brain throughout gestation. Published in Nature Neuroscience, the study provides an unprecedented view of the brain's neuroplasticity during this transformative period.

• Barry Giesbrecht, professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, led a study published in Communications Psychology examining the effects of short bursts of exercise on cognition. First author Jordan Garrett, along with Tom Bullock and Carly Chak, found that vigorous activities like cycling and HIIT produced the most significant improvements in memory, attention, and executive function. The study revealed that exercise lasting less than 30 minutes had the strongest cognitive benefits, especially in executive functioning.

• Michael Beyeler, assistant professor of computer science and psychological and brain sciences, has received the 2024-25 Harold J. Plous Memorial Award for his work in sight-recovery technologies. His Bionic Vision Lab develops advanced "bionic eyes" and VR simulations to improve artificial vision for people with visual impairments. Beyeler is also recognized for his commitment to supporting inclusivity in STEM.

• Ruimeng Hu, associate professor and core faculty member in the Center for Financial Mathematics and Actuarial Research, was selected as a plenary speaker for the 2025 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Conference on Financial Mathematics and Engineering (SIAM). This is a top international conference that attracts well over 200 participants with just a handful of plenary presentations.

• Professor Mike Ludkovski received the prestigious Peter Clark Prize 2024 from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA). This marks the second consecutive year that a faculty member from the Department of Statistics and Applied Probability has earned this distinction, following Professor Gareth Peters, who was honored in 2023.

• Yuting Ma, second-year PhD student, earned second place in the 2025 Grad Slam Final Round at UCSB, showcasing the strength of graduate student research and communication.

• Professor Annie Qu, who recently joined the faculty, has received several major research awards, including as principal investigator on an National Cancer Institute grant (1R01CA297869), titled “SCH: Individualized learning and prediction for heterogeneous multimodal data from wearable devices” (2024-28); as multiple principle investigator on an National Institutes of Health T32 training grant, titled “Statistical Training to Enhance the Excellence of Research (STEER) in Biomedical Sciences” (2025-30); and as co-principal investigator on an NSF CDS&E-MSS grant (2401271) titled “Collaborative Research: Causal Discovery and Individualized Policy Optimization for Human Text Data” (2024-27).

• The Center for Financial Mathematics and Actuarial Research, co-directed by Professors Jean-Pierre Fouque and Mike Ludkovski, will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2026. A special conference is planned for spring 2026 to mark this milestone.

Five researchers from MLPS are among the six from UCSB who earned a spot on Clarivate’s 2024 list of Highly-Cited Researchers, placing them among the world’s most influential scientists. The researchers from MLPS are:

• Halley Froehlich, assistant professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology (cross-field) 

• John Martinis, professor emeritus, Physics

• Richard Mayer, distinguished professor, Psychological & Brain Sciences

• David Siegel, distinguished professor, Geography (cross-field)

• Andrea Young, professor, Physics

Ben Halpern, professor of Marine Biology and Conservation Science at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, was also named on the list.