KITP News
-
An international team of scientists, including astrophysicists from UC Santa Barbara, has discovered that a supernova that exploded in August –– dubbed the supernova of a generation –– was a "white dwarf" star, and that its companion star could not have been a "red giant," as previously suspected. The findings are published in two papers in the journal Nature this week.
12/14/2011 -
An international team of scientists has found the fastest-rotating massive star ever recorded. The star spins around its axis at the speed of 600 kilometers per second at the equator, a rotational velocity so high that the star is nearly tearing apart due to centrifugal forces. This confirms a prediction put forward by astrophysicist Matteo Cantiello, a postdoctoral fellow with UC Santa Barbara's Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, who contributed to the discovery published this week in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
12/05/2011 -
Simon and Diana Raab have generously supported prizes in a contest for the best secondary school science class presentations based on the 2011 KITP Teacher's Conference, on the subject of "Physics and Biology: Evolution of Life and Evolution of Science".
12/01/2011 -
The Simons Foundation has made a generous award to the KITP to support scientists leaving their home institutions for extended visits to the KITP, and to participate in its activities.
To this end we are establishing the "Simons Distinguished Visiting Scholars".
11/14/2011 -
On the 100th anniversary of the first Solvay Conference on Physics, the International Solvay Institutes have created a special "Solvay Centenary Chair," which has been granted to David J. Gross, Nobel laureate in physics, for his seminal contributions to particle physics and string theory.
[Press Release][Announcement from the International Solvay Institutes]
10/14/2011 -
Professor Sean Hartnoll presents "From String Theory to Exotic Materials and Back Again"
[Flyer] [Public lecture page]09/14/2011 -
Kohn Hall, named for UCSB's Nobel Prize-winning physicist Walter Kohn, received the LEED Silver certification in the Existing Building category. LEED is the USGBC's rating system for designing and constructing the world's greenest, most energy-efficient, high-performing buildings.
07/06/2011 -
Boris Shraiman has been elected a Member of the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of his distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
[Press Release]05/03/2011 -
Because of the increased level of activities in recent years, KITP seeks to appoint a second full-time Deputy Director to assist with planning and program development, outreach, and administration, starting approximately July 1, 2012. See our ad for further information.
04/23/2011 -
Anthony Zee, professor of physics with the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara, has received the Humboldt Research Award in recognition of his lifetime achievements in research.
04/22/2011 -
Understanding the Fukushima Reactor Meltdown from a Physics Perspective
[Read more...][Download][Japanese Translation]03/16/2011 -
Professor Edward van den Heuvel presents "Life After Stellar Death: Supernovae, Neutron Stars, Pulsars and Black Holes"
[Flyer] [Public lecture page]03/01/2011 -
Want to try teaching remotely? KITP can help.
[Read More...]02/28/2011 -
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Troxel have made a generous gift of $30,000 for the KITP Family Fund. Douglas is the founder of Serena Software, a global provider of infrastructure software. He joined the KITP Director's Council in 2009, has a passion for physics and a B.S. in mathematics from Iowa State University. He and his wife Deborah, a Santa Barbara native who studied biology at UCSB, live in Hawaii most of the year, when not in Santa Barbara or traveling.
02/15/2011 -
Raab Contest Winners announced!
Simon and Diana Raab have generously supported prizes in a contest for the best secondary school science class presentations based on the 2010 KITP Teacher's Conference, on the subject of "Planets Beyond the Solar System: The New Astronomical Revolutions".01/12/2011

