Curtis got his B.A. in Physics from Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio and is currently studying to get his Ph.D. in Physics at U.C. Santa Barbara. He does research on black holes and the physics of the beginning of the universe. He grew up in Orange County, which was nice because he got to go to Disneyland many times. Curtis likes to play guitar, violin, and the ukulele.

Abhishek is a second year graduate student in the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research interests include Computational Photography, Computer Vision and Graphics. He grew up in India where he got his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. Outside of research, he enjoys reading, listening to music and short movie making.

Deborah is a PhD student in the Dynamical Neuroscience program at UCSB.  Her research focuses on the neural computations underlying goal-directed movement, and she investigates this topic using both neuroimaging and behavioral methods. Deborah is originally from Minnesota and earned a B.A. in Neuroscience and Mathematics from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. She enjoys exercising her brain by playing tennis, hiking, playing guitar, and eating popcorn.

Juliana was born in Bogota, Colombia, and is very proud to be Colombian. When she was twelve, she moved to Washington, D.C. and attended a small international school. Juliana attended college at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Massachusetts, where she studied mechanical engineering and developed a very strong interest in biomaterials, though she is still trying to figure out exactly what those are. Nowadays, Juliana lives in Santa Barbara with her fiancé. When she’s not working in the lab, she’s playing sports.

David grew up in North Carolina with two brothers and a sister. Notably, he once did very well in a tennis tournament, though not well enough to win a trophy. He also helped start a high school and recited "Jabberwocky" at his graduation speech. He then moved to Massachusetts to attend Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, where he played Ultimate and started doing research in microfluidics. Now, he lives in California with his fiancee and is working towards a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at UC Santa Barbara. He continues to play Ultimate and do research in microfluidics.

Tobias is a habitual backpacker, snowboarder and vocalist. He also immensely enjoys his work as a PhD student in the materials department at UCSB. He received his Bachelor’s degree in physics and chemistry from the University of Oregon in his hometown of Eugene. The knowledge and skills he gained there combined with his graduate work are being applied to the engineering problem of energy efficiency for computing applications. Why is the battery life in your smartphone or laptop so limited? In some situations charging a battery every few hours just isn’t an option.

Andy Carter is a third year PhD student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California Santa Barbara. He is currently building extremely small (less than 100 nanometers long!) transistors for computer chips, cell phones, and memory cards. He went to the University of Notre Dame for his undergraduate degree, where he also studied electrical engineering. Andy has been involved in radio and electronics since the beginning of high school when he learned about amateur radio.

Yung-Ting is a 4th year PhD student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She does research on how to detect and defend against attacks in a distributed network. In addition, she also does simulations and investigates/analyze the data under a rapidly changing membership. Yung-Ting grew up in Taiwan and she was in a music gifted program since age 7. She came to the US in 2002 and that's the time she started shifting her interests from music to engineering.

Brett studied for his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Kentucky.  Currently he is a PhD student in the Materials Department at UCSB where his research includes developing computer models to understand and predict impact damage in advanced armor materials through computer simulations and high-velocity impact experiments.  While not in the lab he enjoys hiking, pottery, and snow skiing.


Stacy is a PhD student in the UCSB Physics Department.  She studies tiny glowing silver clusters that form on DNA and uses these clusters to make new nanomaterials.  As an interdisciplinary scientist, she finds it most exciting to study problems in physics that also include elements of biology and chemistry.  Stacy grew up in New Mexico and loves hiking, music, running, and green chili.  Since moving to California for graduate school, she eats considerably less green chili but has been enjoying the beach and the great avocados that grow along the Central Coast.  When not in the lab, you can

“Teaching reinforces my passion for science, and helps me keep a fresh perspective. I believe in encouraging students to make their own discoveries and try to provide an environment in which science is exciting and meaningful.” Andrew has published scientific papers on adhesion in geckos and the nanoscale behavior of polymers. He is currently a PhD student in the materials department at UCSB

Logan is a second year Ph.D. student at UCSB studying Cognitive Psychology. He received his B.S. in Psychology and M.S. in Modeling and Simulation from the University of Central Florida. Logan is interested broadly in how principles of human cognition can inform instructional practice, and how people learn from multimedia. His current research looks at how and why the act of teaching others improves learning.  In his spare time, Logan enjoys meditating, hiking, reading, writing, vegetables, and his truck.

Wade is a second year PhD student in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.  His research involves studying and understanding the rules by which RNA folds into three dimensional shapes.  He uses this knowledge to construct artificial RNA molecules that can self-assemble into predefined shapes and architectures, giving them novel properties that can be used as biosensors and biologically useful nano-devices.  Wade graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO.  He spent five years as a chemist in the Air Force before enrolling in PhD studies at UCSB.  Outs

Amitabh earned his BA in 2001 from Hanover College in the short span of 3½ years with majors in Physics and Computer Science and a minor in Mathematics. His work as a Graduate student involved designing structures for efficient excitation of surface plasmons on metal films. After obtaining his PhD in Optics in 2010, Dr. Ghoshal joined the group of Prof.

Stephen is a PhD student in the Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology Department at UCSB. Growing up playing in the creeks and streams of rural South Carolina helped Stephen develop a passion for the outdoors. After a few years searching for the right major in college, including stops as an engineer, physicist, and religious studies major, he returned to nature and received a BS in Biological Sciences.

David is a third year Ph.D student in the mechanical engineering department, specializing in soft robotics design and control. He received a dual B.S. in mechanical engineering and product design, and his research interests center on the engineering design cycle, bioinspiration, and automation. In his free time he likes to be outdoors and work on entrepreneurial projects, as well as play with his two very good dogs.

Chris Hammetter is a graduate student in Mechanical Engineering at UCSB.  His research involves the study of cellular structures and their behavior, especially concerning applications in impact absorption.  He received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.  Before going to college, he grew up in Albuquerque, NM.  In his free time, Chris enjoys working on his motorcycle, playing video games, and hanging out with friends.

Takako Hirokawa is a 4th year graduate student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering. She received her bachelor degrees in Engineering Physics and Applied Math from the University of Colorado Boulder. She works on silicon photonic devices that will make the Internet faster! In her free time, she likes to ride her bike, make ice cream, and bake. 

Michael grew up in Long Island, NY and graduated from SUNY Albany in 2006 earning a B.S. in Biology. Mike moved to Santa Barbara in 2007 and is pursuing his Ph.D. under Luke Theogarajan where he is synthesizing nanoscale capsules for site-specific drug delivery. When not in the lab, Mike enjoys playing basketball, going to the beach and spending time with friends and family.

Warren is a second year grad student at UCSB studying integrated silicon photonics. Before moving to Santa Barbara, Warren worked as a software engineer. He graduated from Brown University in 2012 with a degree in Computer Engineering. In his free time, Warren enjoys rock climbing, and Latin dance.

Michael grew up in Oregon, where he developed his passion for music and physics while avoiding all the rain. His undergraduate experience at USC got him interested in mathematical physics, and he currently studies some of the most extraordinary objects in the universe, known as pulsars. They are stars the mass of the sun, but compressed to the size of Santa Barbara, that can be found spinning nearly a thousand times a second. On each rotation, we see a faint flash, so they act as cosmic metronomes, and can be as accurate as atomic clocks. In his

Patrick was born and raised in Santa Rosa, CA and has always been interested in what makes humans tick.  Specifically, he thinks its amazing how the brain manages to control every aspect of our behavior.  That is why he went to USCB and got his Bachelor's Degree in Biopsychology.  But his studies left him feeling unsatisfied.  There were too many questions left unanswered.  So he now spends his days trying to understand how the nervous system develops as a Ph.D.

Robert got his B.A. in chemistry in beautiful San Diego at UCSD. He couldn't bring himself to leave California so he moved up the coast to Santa Barbara and is currently studying to get his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at UCSB. He does research on new methods to create carbon-nitrogen bonds using nitroso compounds. Robert did most of his growing up in Moorpark, CA but continues to grow up in sunny Santa Barbara to this very day.

Daniel was born in California, but grew up in South Florida. While he enjoyed high school - and the good friends, sports, and teachers that came along with it - he was happy to get closer to some mountains in college. Daniel attended Duke University, where he double majored in Biology and Religion. In 2008 he came to UCSB to study paleontology, and he feels very fortunate that his research has taken him to the Galapagos Islands, Madagascar, the Andes of Chile, and the flatlands of Argentina. But his primary motivation as a grad student is to begin a career in teaching.

Hari is a postdoctoral researcher in Chemical Engineering at UCSB. His work focuses on understanding complex and biological fluids, and he is particularly interested in mechanics at the microscopic scale. He received his Ph.D. in Applied Mechanics from UC San Diego, and the beauty of the beaches and mountains of Southern California continues to keep him attached to this part of the world.

Levi Miller studies how electricity flows through newfangled plastics. He convinced the materials department at UCSB to let him try to earn a degree this way by graduating from the Colorado School of Mines with a bachelor's degree in physics. Now in his second year of graduate school, he often leaves the lab to walk around and listen to what people have to say.

Jessica is a second year Master’s student in the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, where she is specializing in Coastal Marine Resource Management and focusing in Eco-Entrepreneurship. For her Master’s Thesis Group Project, she is working with a team to create environmentally focused educational media to help teach science and promote environmental stewardship. Jessica has a B.A. in Economics from Boston University. She is a native Californian from Santa Monica and loves the ocean, and in her spare time enjoys hanging out with friends. 

Jacob is a 4th year PhD student in the Chemical Engineering Department at UCSB.  Currently, he performs simulations at the resolution of single atoms in order to study the structure of water and its role in determining how peptides and proteins interact with each other.  Jacob grew up in Virginia and enjoys hiking, running, and playing the violin.

Mike earned his BA at Rice University in 2006. He is now a PhD student in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research focuses on the opposing constructs of mind-wandering and mindfulness, with an emphasis on how cultivating a capacity for non-distraction can impact educational and professional performance. Mike also enjoys hiking, guitar, movies, and meditation.

Brenden obtained both his undergraduate (B.S. Engineering Physics) and graduate (Ph.D. Material Science) education from the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Wilson group at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Brenden grew up in Pueblo, Colorado with his two brothers, parents, and a copious amount of chickens. Outside of research, Brenden enjoys rock climbing, ice hockey, video games, and gardening. 

Justin Pearson is a graduate student in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He studied mechanical engineering at UCSB and Stanford University, emphasizing control systems. For four years after graduation he worked on autonomous airplanes at AeroVironment. He designed and implemented control algorithms for the Global Observer: a giant high-altitude long-endurance prototype spyplane powered by liquid Hydrogen. He deployed to Edwards Air Force Base for the aircraft's 15-month flight-test campaign.

The exquisite complexity of life has captured Britney’s fascination since she was a very little girl.  She was obsessed with marine biology until high school, where she first learned about genetics.  Pursuing molecular biology and biochemistry in college, Britney continued to be enthralled by what makes life “tick” at the chemical level.  Now she’s a 5th year PhD student at UCSB studying eye development using stem cells in hopes of applying her findings to cellular therapies for age-related macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 55.  Britney

Celeste is a second-year PhD student in the Department of Psychological and Brain Science and a graduate of California State University, Fresno. She studies how people learn and how, as a consequence, they should be taught. Specifically, she's interested in how to get students to make accurate judgments of their own learning. As an undergraduate Celeste spent a lot of time looking at people's brain waves, and that was cool too. Outside of school Celeste likes baking bread and talking to people about breakfast.

Raj is a fourth year graduate student in the Materials Department. Her research involves simulating the charge/discharge processes within a Lithium-Ion Battery, with an emphasis on the stress within storage particles. Using these simulations we can start to asses the effects of aging on a battery and evolve strategies for increasing its lifetime. Raj is from Mumbai, India and has (predictably) fallen in love with jalapenos in the three years she has lived in California.

Brenna is a second year graduate student in the Earth Science Department at UCSB. She also attended UCSB for her undergraduate studies where she received a B.S. in aquatic biology and geology in 2012. Her research interests include how geologic structures, such as faulting and folding, influence ore deposits. Brenna grew up in northern Minnesota, and although she enjoyed the snow, she certainly appreciates the sunshine in Santa Barbara. In her free time, Brenna enjoys hiking, reading, traveling, and taking her black lab puppy to the beach.

Victoria is a third year Ph.D. student in photonics at UCSB. She works on building free space laser transmitters for satellite communications. She holds an M.S. in applied physics from the University of Oregon and a B.S. in physics from Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, VA. In her spare time, Victoria enjoys reading and playing the piano.  

Heather grew up in the Chicago area and received a BS in biology from Elmhurst College. She earned her PhD in plant biology at the University of California, Riverside studying the effects of exotic plants and anthropogenic nitrogen deposition on California’s desert wildflowers. She is currently a postdoctoral scholar in the department of ecology, evolution, and marine biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and is working on projects related to evolution in wild plant species in response to climate change.

Born and raised in sunny southern California, Christina earned her B.A. from Cal State Long Beach before becoming a Ph.D. graduate student in the department of Psychological & Brain Sciences here at UCSB. Her research focuses on how withdrawal from long-term cocaine use impacts the prefrontal cortex region of the brain. She aims to someday understand how craving is expressed in the brain and how withdrawal from cocaine can spark craving in addicts even after they are long sober. In her free time, she likes to go kayaking and hiking.

Prasanna received MS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, India and a PhD in Materials Science Engineering from the University of Southampton, UK. His interdisciplinary research background enabled him to work in research problems ranging from actuation/sensing structures at micro/nano scales, atom chips with integrated functionalities to invitro biological tools over the last decade. He is currently an Otis Williams Research Fellow in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the UCSB.

Sarah is a 2nd year Master's student at UCSB's Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. Her Master's project is the development of a web series designed to teach environmental science to elementary school students. Sarah grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona, but she decided to attend college on the east coast at Boston University where she studied Marine Science.  She loves to bake unhealthy treats, go to concerts, and spend time at the beach in her spare time.

Becky is a fourth year PhD student in the Earth Science Department at UC Santa Barbara. Growing up in South Florida, she was not exposed to the joys of geology until leaving her flat and rock-less home for the geological wonderland of California to attend college at Caltech. Since then her adventures in earth science have taken her throughout California and the Western U.S., as well as to Hawaii, China, Greece, Argentina, and Nepal. Her current research focuses on how climate, sedimentation and erosion, and tectonics interact to affect plateau growth in the Andes.

Steven grew up in South Florida and graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a B.S. in Chemistry, after which he worked in industry for two years. He is currently a second year Chemistry graduate student doing research on fluorescent silver DNA nanoclusters. He is trying to elucidate the structural nuances that make these interesting structures fluoresce, especially in regards to their chiroptical properties. He enjoys hanging out with friends and family as well as being overly competitive.

Daryl is a 5th year graduate student in the Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology under the guidance of Anthony De Tomaso.  In the De Tomaso's lab, he studies and attempts to understand the underlying mechanism of allorecognition (self-nonself recognition) in Botryllus schlosseri.  He attended Santa Clara University majoring in Biomedical sciences with a minor in Biotechnology then worked in the biotech industry for 2 years.

YerPeng is a 5th year graduate student in the Biomolecular Science and Engineering program in UC Santa Barbara. In the Waite lab, he studies squid beak which is the hardest fully organic material known.

Nate is currently a PhD candidate at UCSB under Professor Mahnoosh Alizadeh in the Electrical Engineering Department. Nate grew up in Portland, Oregon  and earned his B.S. in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering as well as his Master's in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University in the Bay Area. His research focuses on using modern advancements in optimization and learning to increase the usage of renewable energy in human-cyber-physical systems such as the power grid and transportation networks. His hobbies include video games, backpacking, mountain biking, and traveling.

Nate grew up in Northern California, but received his BA in psychology from Colgate University in upstate New York.  After his undergraduate years he worked for a couple of professors on sleep research at Stanford University, while thoroughly enjoying his return to a California lifestyle.   He is currently pursuing a PhD in social psychology in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at UCSB and conducts research on stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination.  When Nate isn’t conducting research or teaching at UCSB he enjoys playing the guitar, reading good novels, and most impor

Irene was born in Santa Barbara when both of her parents were attending UCSB.  She moved to Georgia and quickly picked up a southern drawl, but lost it after moving back to the West Coast where she lived in Santa Cruz.  Finally, coming full circle, Irene attended UCSB as an undergraduate studying Biopsychology.  After graduating she stayed in Santa Barbara working as a research technician, before starting her graduate career in the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology department at UCSB.  Her research focuses on understanding the factors involved in the specification of cell fates

Emily is a Ph.D. graduate student in the department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology.   She studies the effects of an invasive species, the African clawed frog, on native amphibians.  She is investigating predator-prey interactions, disease transmission, and how to detect this invasive species using DNA present in water.  Emily grew up in Oregon and received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.  Outside of research, she enjoys swimming, fishing, and outrigger paddling. 

Yin is a Ph.D. Candidate in Media Arts and Technology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She has a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Engineering, a Master of Science in Information Technology, and a Master of Science in Interior Architecture. Yin is interested in exploring the potential of interactive multimedia environments and the relationship between architecture and music through the emerging technologies in contemporary art/architecture practice. Her researches are focusing on human-computer interaction. In her spare time, she loves traveling and cooking.