News

Communication and brain sciences professor at UC Santa Barbara elected as inaugural SANS Fellow

René Weber, a UC Santa Barbara professor whose early experiments involving video games and brain scanners were once met with deep skepticism, has been named an inaugural Fellow of the Social and Affective Neuroscience Society (SANS). The distinction recognizes scholars who h

UCSB’s Public Finance Lab Demystifies Data for the Community

As an economist schooled in the prestigious halls of HEC Paris and UC Berkeley, Dr. Youssef Benzarti specializes in the intricate interactions between governments, firms, and individuals. After arriving at UC Santa Barbara in 2018, he and his colleague, Professor Alisa Tazhitdinova, a fellow Berkeley PhD alumna specializing in individual tax responsiveness, established the Public Finance Lab (PFL), with with foundational funding from the Thelma and Walter Mead Initiative.

Dr. Daniel Masterson Awarded 7th Pahl Scholarship

The Pahl Center for the Study of Critical Social Issues at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has announced the appointment of Dr. Daniel Masterson as the 7th Pahl Scholar. Dr. Masterson, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science, will lead an urgent new research initiative titled, "After Deportation: Life Trajectories, Migration Choices, and Reintegration in Honduras."

UCSB’s Blum Center Awarded Prestigious Environmental Justice Grant

UC Santa Barbara’s Blum Center on Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy has been awarded a prestigious $100,000 grant from the California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA) which will enable it to continue its research and advocacy on behalf of the Central Coast’s most vulnerable populations.

Dr. Shaunak Sastry Named Director of The Pahl Center for the Study of Critical Social Issues

UC Santa Barbara has named global health scholar Dr. Shaunak Sastry as the inaugural Director of The Pahl Center for the Study of Critical Social Issues. Sastry, a renowned expert in health communication and community-engaged research, arrives from the University of Cincinnati to lead a center fueled by a $10.5 million gift from alumni Stephen and Louise Pahl.

New Research Highlights Economic Consequences of Gun Violence

Is Social Media Causing Moral Panic?

Too much screen time — particularly related to social media use in kids, teens and young adults — is a major concern in modern society. Smartphones are ubiquitous. Social media is enticing. And the impulse-control and decision-making capacities in young brains are not yet fully developed.

Anthropologist Finds Inequity in Europe's Green Revolution

Environmental sustainability is often framed as universally beneficial — a shared global mission to curb climate change, reduce waste and build greener futures. But what if some of these well-intentioned policies deepen the very inequalities they aim to solve?