UC Santa Barbara Physics Department
Encyclopedia
The Physics Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara
has 58 faculty members. It offers academic programs leading to the B.A., B.S., and Ph.D. degrees.
winners among its faculty: David Gross
(2004, Physics), Alan J. Heeger
(2000, Chemistry), and Walter Kohn
(1998, Chemistry). Herbert Kroemer
, who won the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics is a member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering and Materials Departments at UC Santa Barbara. The department's faculty includes 13 members of the National Academy of Sciences
: Guenter Ahlers, David Awschalom
, David Gross
, James Hartle, Alan Heeger, Gary Horowitz, Walter Kohn
, James Langer, Stanton Peale, Joseph Polchinski, Douglas Scalapino, Boris Shraiman, and Michael Witherell. Awschalom and Heeger are also members of the National Academy of Engineering
.
is Director of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics
(KITP), and its permanent members are also faculty of the Physics Department. David Awschalom
, professor in the physics department, is Director of the California NanoSystems Institute
at UC Santa Barbara, and several members of the physics faculty carry out their research program within CNSI. The Institute for Terahertz Science and Technology is the research home for many other faculty members in the physics department.
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
has 58 faculty members. It offers academic programs leading to the B.A., B.S., and Ph.D. degrees.
Faculty Awards
As of 2011, the department counts three Nobel PrizeNobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winners among its faculty: David Gross
David Gross
David Jonathan Gross is an American particle physicist and string theorist. Along with Frank Wilczek and David Politzer, he was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of asymptotic freedom. He is currently the director and holder of the Frederick W...
(2004, Physics), Alan J. Heeger
Alan J. Heeger
Alan Jay Heeger is an American physicist, academic and Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry.Heeger was born in Sioux City, Iowa to a Jewish family. He earned a B.S. in physics and mathematics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1957, and a Ph.D in physics from the University of California,...
(2000, Chemistry), and Walter Kohn
Walter Kohn
Walter Kohn is an Austrian-born American theoretical physicist.He was awarded, with John Pople, the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1998. The award recognized their contributions to the understandings of the electronic properties of materials...
(1998, Chemistry). Herbert Kroemer
Herbert Kroemer
Herbert Kroemer , a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara, received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics in 1952 from the University of Göttingen, Germany, with a dissertation on hot electron effects in the then-new transistor, setting the stage...
, who won the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics is a member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering and Materials Departments at UC Santa Barbara. The department's faculty includes 13 members of the National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences commonly refers to the academy in the United States of America.National Academy of Sciences may also refer to :* National Academy of Sciences of Argentina* Armenian National Academy of Sciences...
: Guenter Ahlers, David Awschalom
David Awschalom
David D. Awschalom is an American condensed matter experimental physicist. He is best known for his work in spintronics in semiconductors. Awschalom was awarded the 2005 Oliver E Buckley Prize by the American Physical Society, and the 2005 Agilent Europhysics Prize by the European Physical Society...
, David Gross
David Gross
David Jonathan Gross is an American particle physicist and string theorist. Along with Frank Wilczek and David Politzer, he was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of asymptotic freedom. He is currently the director and holder of the Frederick W...
, James Hartle, Alan Heeger, Gary Horowitz, Walter Kohn
Walter Kohn
Walter Kohn is an Austrian-born American theoretical physicist.He was awarded, with John Pople, the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1998. The award recognized their contributions to the understandings of the electronic properties of materials...
, James Langer, Stanton Peale, Joseph Polchinski, Douglas Scalapino, Boris Shraiman, and Michael Witherell. Awschalom and Heeger are also members of the National Academy of Engineering
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
.
Undergraduate academics
The standard program, which is in the College of Letters and Science (L&S), leads to either a B.A. or B.S. degree. The B.S. program is for those aiming for a career in physics, while the B.A. is a more flexible program allowing more courses from other areas. Within the B.S. program there are three possible schedules of courses - a standard track, an advanced track, and an honors track - leading to a degree in four years. These tracks include increasingly more electives and undergraduate research.Graduate academics
The graduate program was ranked sixth among physics program in the 2011 study by the National Research Council. The faculty members conduct research in Astrophysics and Cosmology, Biophysics, Condensed Matter Physics, High Energy Physics, Gravity and Relativity, and Mathematical Physics.Associated Institutes
Physics professor David GrossDavid Gross
David Jonathan Gross is an American particle physicist and string theorist. Along with Frank Wilczek and David Politzer, he was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of asymptotic freedom. He is currently the director and holder of the Frederick W...
is Director of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics
Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics
The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics is a research institute of the University of California, Santa Barbara. KITP is one of the most renowned institutes for theoretical physics in the world. KITP programs bring theorists in physics and related fields together to work together on topics at...
(KITP), and its permanent members are also faculty of the Physics Department. David Awschalom
David Awschalom
David D. Awschalom is an American condensed matter experimental physicist. He is best known for his work in spintronics in semiconductors. Awschalom was awarded the 2005 Oliver E Buckley Prize by the American Physical Society, and the 2005 Agilent Europhysics Prize by the European Physical Society...
, professor in the physics department, is Director of the California NanoSystems Institute
California Nanosystems Institute
The California NanoSystems Institute is an integrated research center operating jointly at UCLA and UC Santa Barbara whose mission is to foster interdisciplinary collaborations for discoveries in nanosystems and nanotechnology; train the next generation of scientists, educators and technology...
at UC Santa Barbara, and several members of the physics faculty carry out their research program within CNSI. The Institute for Terahertz Science and Technology is the research home for many other faculty members in the physics department.