In a week-long bioblitz, UC Santa Barbara researchers and national experts joined forces to uncover the rich, and often overlooked, biodiversity thriving on the ocean floor of the Santa Barbara Channel.
Dr. Anna Trugman has received the 2025 AGU James B. Macelwane Medal, recognizing her outstanding early-career contributions to Earth and space sciences and her induction into the AGU College of Fellows.
In a new compelling op-ed on The Hill, Dr. Rebecca Vega Thurber pushes back firmly against climate change denial, including President Trump’s repeated claims that it's a “hoax” or “con job.
In a compelling article on The Conversation, Dr. Rebecca Vega Thurber unpacks the ripple effects of sea star wasting disease—from underwater ecosystem collapse to unexpected economic innovation.
Researchers are uncovering more evidence that a fragmented comet exploded over Earth nearly 13,000 years ago — an event that may have driven the extinction of megafauna and the disappearance of the Clovis culture in North America.
UCSB’s FUERTE program takes students into California’s Eastern Sierra for hands-on field research, mentorship, and a real-world look at careers in environmental science.
Led by UCSB Marine Science Institute principal investigator and Earth Science Emeritus Professor James Kennett, new research reveals that cosmic airbursts—explosions from meteors or comets detonating in the atmosphere—may be far more common than previously believed.
Associate Professor Anna Trugman, researcher and principal investigator at UCSB’s Marine Science Institute, joins leading scientists calling for urgent reforms to nature-based climate solutions.
In a powerful op-ed on The Opinion Pages, Dr. Rebecca Vega Thurber warns that drastic cuts to the NSF threaten America's leadership in science, medicine, and innovation.
Celebrating Dr. Caselle’s exceptional contributions to marine science, exploration, and education—an honor truly well deserved for her dedication and leadership in the field.
Community-led research from UCSB’s Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory spans three years, four continents and eight countries to reveal the scale of river plastic waste and offer solutions to stop it at the source.
Marine Science Institute researcher Dr. Kat Beheshti has been awarded the 2025 Cronin Award for Early Achievement, recognizing her outstanding contributions to coastal ecology and restoration science.
Marine Science Institute researcher Andrew Plantinga has been honored by the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists for his pioneering work linking economics, land use, and environmental policy.
Rebecca Vega Thurber, Director of UCSB’s Marine Science Institute, joins the 2025 Public Voices Fellowship to amplify her research and inspire public action on ocean conservation.
UC Santa Barbara’s Professor Halley Froehlich warns that new seafood deregulation could undermine decades of scientific progress, weaken NOAA’s role, and put the future of U.S. fisheries at risk.
As a child, Dr. Anita Giraldo-Ospina knew she was destined for a career in marine biology, and her atypical path to becoming a researcher at MSI is a story of globe-trotting, remarkable work ethic, mature self-reflection, and deep scientific talent.
UC Santa Barbara’s David Valentine sounds the alarm: without funding for the labs, people, and tools behind research, the future of American science is at risk.
Awarded for her pioneering research on reef fish ecology and conservation, and marking a historic achievement as the first woman ever to receive this prestigious honor.
Hayden Vega, a marine science major from Long Beach, is graduating from UC Santa Barbara with a deep commitment to ocean conservation and community-centered research.
On Christmas Day last year, during a National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet expedition in Antarctica, the crew of the R/V Falkor (Too), the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel, captured a live video of the squid Gonatus antarcticus for the first time alive in the wild.
