Graduate Education: Prospective Students
The UCSB Department of Physics has 49 faculty members and is ranked among the very top programs in the country. Additionally, in recent years, the UCSB Physics faculty ranked first in the country in terms of research impact as measured by citations per paper and citations per faculty. These facts imply that the average quality of the faculty members is simply outstanding, reflecting the quality of the graduate courses and the quality of the research in which our students are involved.
One reason why the Department of Physics is so successful is the focus on collaborative research with other departments, in particular, Materials, Chemistry, Biological Sciences, and the College of Engineering. Students in experimental research are encouraged to partake in graduate courses at Engineering, e.g. how to use clean room facilities. (UCSB has one of the largest clean room facilities on the West Coast, located in the brand new Engineering III building.)
Research in the department is at the forefront of many areas in physics, including theoretical and experimental astronomy and cosmology; theoretical and experimental condensed matter physics; theoretical and experimental high energy physics; gravity and relativity; quantum engineering; biophysics; and polymers and organic solids.
Recognition of academic quality takes many forms. One of the most prestigious is support from the National Science Foundation (NSF). UCSB is home to numerous national centers and institutes, including five that are sponsored by NSF. For example, the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics brings together the world's foremost theorists to study problems overlapping the specialized subfields of the discipline.
UCSB was selected as a site for one of the first California Institutes for Science and Innovation. The California NanoSystems Institute, a research partnership between UCSB and UCLA, is receiving $100 million in state funds, which will be matched two-to-one by private industry. The institutes are expected to produce scientific advances in fields critical to the future of California's economy.
Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP)
Professor David Gross, recipient of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics, is director of the world-renowned Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) at UCSB. The KITP is one of the most -- if not the most -- dynamic and prestigious theoretical research centers in the world. It continuously hosts scientific programs covering major fields of current scientific interests such as cosmology, neural science, quantum information, string theory, and molecular and cellular machines. The constant flux of world-leading scientists participating in the programs provides a unique opportunity for our graduate students to learn about the latest developments in science and to establish important contacts for their future careers.
California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI)
Another truly exceptional research center at UCSB is the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI). This Institute has been established by the State of California, supported by several industrial sponsors and national research grants. The CNSI is based on the vision that nano-scale science will have a revolutionary impact on biology, engineering, physics, medicine, information, communication, and computation science. The CNSI building, a brand new state-of-the-art research facility, will be completed by Fall 2006. It will provide unique opportunities for collaborative research between industry and the UCSB Science Departments. Companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Sun, Intel and many others will also use the CNSI for recruitment, thus providing our students with excellent future career options.
Professor David Awschalom, recipient of the 2005 Buckley Prize of the American Physical Society, is director of the Center for Spintronics and Quantum Computation (CSQC), which is part of the CNSI. This multidisciplinary research center provides a focus for rapidly expanding research, education, and training in spin-based electronics and quantum computation.
Center for Polymers and Organic Solids (CPOS)
Physics Professor Alan Heeger, recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, is the founder of the Center for Polymers and Organic Solids (CPOS). This center performs research at the interface between physics, chemistry, and biology.
Institute for Quantum and Complex Dynamics (iQCD)
The research of the Institute for Quantum and Complex Dynamics focuses on the fundamental properties of complex systems, such as superfluid helium, liquid crystals, magnetic nanostructures and semiconductor superlattices and quantum wells. iQCD, under the directorship of Physics Professor Mark Sherwin, supports the research efforts of investigators and students from the Departments of Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Materials, Chemical Engineering, and Chemistry.
Materials Research Laboratory (MRL)
The Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) at UCSB is an NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center. Its primary role is to support interdisciplinary research, training and education through the study of materials with chemical and structural complexity in which self-assembly and multiple length-scales play an important role.
Apart from the research centers, we would like to point out the UCSB Certificate in College and University Teaching (CCUT) program. This program, unique to UCSB, is designed for students who wish to demonstrate superior competence and experience in preparation for teaching at the university or college level. There are also outreach opportunities available within the department, including Women in Physics, Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) , the Physics Circus, and the LEAPS program.
Santa Barbara
One might wonder why UCSB is such a successful university. Frankly speaking, a lot of credit should probably go to the campus planners who had the insight to select a wonderful piece of land, extending out into the Pacific Ocean. (Not to mention a most pleasant California climate, apart from the occasional rain storms.) The UCSB campus is full of energy and is a place where science and life are flourishing.
The University is in Santa Barbara, although the actual center of Santa Barbara is about 8 miles away. Many graduate students do live in lively and beautiful Santa Barbara, and make use of the very convenient public bus transportation from downtown to the campus. Others live in nearby Goleta and Isla Vista, within biking distance from UCSB and within walking distance from the beach. There are also excellent bike paths from UCSB to other parts of Goleta and Santa Barbara.
We wish you well in finishing your undergraduate studies and thank you again for your interest in graduate studies at UCSB!
--The Faculty of the Department of Physics at UCSB
