Giving Opportunities 
At the heart of any great institution are the people whose vision and talent define it. In the Department of Physics, we seek funding that will enable us to attract and retain world-class scholars and the most promising students.
Areas in Need of Funding:
» Unrestricted Support
» Student Support
» Roig Fellowship
» Faculty Support
» Lecture Series
» Peale Lecture
» Capital Naming Opportunities
UNRESTRICTED SUPPORT
Unrestricted gifts to the Department are designated to the highest priority needs by the Department Chair. This flexible funding allows the Department to seize new opportunities that emerge as well as support the existing outstanding students, faculty, programs and research.
Impact of unrestricted support:
- create top-notch learning programs for undergraduates
- support and reward the research endeavors of our very best students
- facilitate cutting edge research efforts that move both science and society forward
- attract and hire the most competitively recruited scientists at every stage of their careers
- support the best and brightest graduate students in their pursuit of a Ph.D. degree
- bring distinguished lecturers to the Department to the benefit of both faculty and students
- outfit and equip laboratories where faculty and students of all levels can interact
STUDENT SUPPORT
The strength of a university department is often evaluated on the quality of its students and the research in which they are engaged. Our ability to recruit and retain the very best scholars is essential to the success of the Department. Education is at the core of our mission and your support of the outstanding undergraduates and graduates within the Department is instrumental in our ability to educate the next generation of leaders whose future endeavors will have a profound impact on society.
Undergraduate Students
Undergraduate scholarship support allows the Department to recognize outstanding undergraduate students for their excellence in course work and research. Contributions at any level are greatly appreciated and allow us to honor exceptional students within the Department. For information on how you can support undergraduate students, please contact Bethany Innocenti at 805-893-4963 or bethany.innocenti@ucsb.edu.
Summer Research Award for Undergraduates
A gift of $5,000 supports an undergraduate student’s summer research.
Engaging our talented undergraduate students in scientific research is a top priority of the Department. Summer research projects are of exceptional importance in the development of young scientists, providing a project-based approach to learning that is quite different than the classroom. Summer Research Awards enable undergraduate students to participate in a unique intellectually stimulating experience that will influence their education and future professional lives as technology-oriented citizens.
Named Endowed Scholarship
A gift of $20,000 or more establishes a permanent named scholarship.
Named Scholarship Award
A gift of $1,000 or more establishes a one-year named award.
Established Named Awards
In honor of Professor Francesc Roig, his spirit and tremendous influence, the College of Creative Studies and the Department of Physics have established the Francesc Roig Summer Undergraduate Research Fund. This fund will function as an endowment to annually support, in perpetuity, a summer research fellowship for a CCS Physics student. Modeled after the existing CCS Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (S.U.R.F), the “Francesc Roig Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship” will be awarded on an annual basis to a competitively selected College of Creative Studies Physics student to permit them to undertake up to 12 weeks of research in collaboration with a UCSB faculty member.
Graduate Students
Graduate fellowship support is a high priority of the Department as it enables us to compete with the very best universities in the Nation to recruit and retain top scholars. For information on how you can support graduate students, please contact Bethany Innocenti at 805-893-4963 or bethany.innocenti@ucsb.edu.
Named Endowed Fellowship
A gift of $200,000 or more establishes a permanent named fellowship.
Named Quarter Fellowship
A gift of $10,000 will fully support a graduate student for one-quarter of their career. This type of fellowship is extremely helpful for graduate students as it allows them to take a quarter off from teaching and focus solely on their research and dissertation.
Named Full-Year Fellowship
A gift of $50,000 or more fully supports a graduate student for one-year of their career.
Named Fellowship Award
Established Named Awards
The Hanan Baddar Graduate Fellowship Memorial Fund was established in memory of Hanan Baddar, a post-graduate researcher in the Department of Physics at the UC Santa Barbara, who was killed in an automobile accident on July 15, 1996, one day short of her 36th birthday. She earned a Ph.D. in Physics from Ohio State University in 1994 before coming to UC Santa Barbara to do research on low temperature physics. Hanan was an outstanding young physicist conducting experiments on liquid helium. Each year an award from The Hanan Baddar Graduate Fellowship Memorial Fund shall be offered to an outstanding potential first-year UC Santa Barbara graduate student in Physics.
The Ferrando-Fithian Physics Award was established to encourage women to pursue physics at an advanced level and to attract outstanding women graduate students to UC Santa Barbara. The primary factor in choice of the candidate shall be the demonstration of strong potential for development as a scholar and research scientist in physics.
The Cicely and Albert D. Wheelon Fellowship was established in memory of Cicely and Albert Wheelon, friends of UCSB. The award is given to incoming graduate students based on their outstanding scholastic achievement.
The Yzurdiaga Fellowship was established to support outstanding graduate students within Physics, Chemistry & Biochemistry, as well as the Biological Sciences. The Yzurdiaga Fellowship plays an essential role in the recruitment of stellar graduate students.
FACULTY SUPPORT
Throughout history, the University of California, Santa Barbara has given priority to the recruitment, retention, and support of superior faculty. Only through a strong faculty can the University maintain and advance its position as a world leader in the generation and transfer of knowledge. Endowments established in support of faculty are an investment in UC Santa Barbara’s most prestigious asset – the curiosity, talent, and vision of scholars who call the University of California, Santa Barbara home. These scholars in turn are instrumental in attracting the best students, enhancing and building educational and research programs, providing service and engagement to the community, and disseminating the UCSB’s world-class knowledge to society. For more information on how you can support an endowed chair or faculty research, please contact Bethany Innocenti at 805-893-4963 or bethany.innocenti@ucsb.edu.
Endowed Chairs
Endowed Chairs honor, encourage, and support the professors whose gifted minds and commitment to education and research promote the University’s mission. An endowed chair is the most significant honor the University can offer to faculty, by way of a donor’s generosity. Holders of endowed chairs represent the most distinguished scholars who are selected for brilliant scholarship, inspirational teaching, and outstanding leadership. A gift of $500,000 or more will support the creation of a new endowed chair and will provide a legacy for the donor on the UC Santa Barbara campus while supporting the teaching and research of a faculty scholar.
Established Endowed Chairs
The Guenter and June Ahlers Chair in Experimental Physics was established through a gift from Professor Guenter Ahlers and his wife, June. After 17 years as a research physicist at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Guenter joined the physics faculty at UC Santa Barbara in 1979. He and June have been very appreciative of the exceptionally stimulating environment provided by this city, the University, and the Department of Physics and establishing this Chair is their way of expressing this appreciation. The Chair shall support a faculty position in the Department of Physics within the College of Letters & Science at UCSB. The payout will provide the Chair holder with funds to support teaching, public service and research.
The Frederick W. Gluck Chair in Theoretical Physics, an endowed chair for the Director of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP), was established through a generous gift from Frederick W. Gluck. Frederick W. Gluck, a Trustee of The UCSB Foundation since 1999, has a distinguished record of leadership and vision in his business career, and is widely regarded by his colleagues as having one of the sharpest, most strategic minds in the world of global business. The Frederick W. Gluck Chair shall support the faculty position of the Director of the KITP at UC Santa Barbara. The distributable income will provide the Chair holder with funds to support new initiatives and programs, public outreach and research. The current endowed chair holder is Professor David Gross.
The Worster Endowed Chair in Experimental Physics was established through a generous gift from Bruce and Susan Worster. Susan and Bruce, both alumni of UC Santa Barbara, have been tremendous supporters of this University over the years. Susan Worster received her bachelor’s degree in environmental biology from UCSB in 1970 and Bruce Worster received his undergraduate degree in 1964 from Harvey Mudd College and his Ph.D. in Physics from UCSB in 1972. The Worster Endowed Chair in Experimental Physicsshall support a faculty position in the Department of Physics within the College of Letters & Science at the UC Santa Barbara. The payout will provide the Chair holder with funds to support teaching, public service and research. The current chair holder is Professor John Martinis.
Research Support
Our ability to create a uniquely interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial culture is crucial to the success of our researches. Your support of research enables us to magnify our impact in vital areas that move both technology and society forward.
LECTURE SERIES
Lecture series provide the department with the opportunity to bring internationally recognized scholars to UC Santa Barbara. The visiting scholars are invited to participate with faculty and students within the department through a formal lecture presented to the campus and local community, presentations in undergraduate and graduate level classes, and informal, small group discussions. Lecture series enable the department to provide an exceptional learning environment for students that augments the general curriculum while raising the profile of the department by attracting preeminent scholars in a particular field. These lectures are made possibly by the generosity of our donors and the funds allow us to attract distinguished scholars to our campus and to maximize the impact of their visit to UC Santa Barbara. For more information on how you can support a distinguished lecture series, please contact Bethany Innocenti at 805-893-4963 or bethany.innocenti@ucsb.edu.
Named Endowed Lecture Series
A gift of $20,000 or more establishes a permanent named lecture that can occur annually.
Named Lecture
A gift of $5,000 will support the expenses related to one lecture and can be named for the generosity of the donor.
CAPITAL NAMING OPPORTUNITIES
Buildings, teaching facilities, and research labs all foster interactions among students and faculty, contain areas for study and leisure, and inspire excellent work. The quality of these spaces is essential in maintaining the competiveness of the Department. There are many undergraduate laboratories which are available for naming gifts. For more information please contact Bethany Innocenti at 805-893-4963 or bethany.innocenti@ucsb.edu.