Featured Newsletter Articles
Articles curated from our KITP Newsletters archive, please click the article's title or image to read the featured story.
New Mathematical Frameworks Reveal How Stable Thoughts Emerge from Chaotic Brain Activity
“The mind is what the brain does,” as the pioneering artificial intelligence researcher Marvin Minsky once said. So, it’d be fantastic to understand at what level of anatomy, or complexity, the brain actually carries out its processing and computation. Read more
by Harrison Tasoff, Science Writer, UCSB Public Affairs & Communications
KITP Newsletter, Spring 2026
High-Precision Gravitational Waves
It is remarkable that over the past 20 years, we have seen two significant scientific discoveries: the Higgs boson and gravitational waves, both of which were made possible by monumental efforts by experimentalists and the support of forward-thinking government funding agencies. Read more
by Ira Rothstein, Carnegie Mellon University
KITP Newsletter, Spring 2026
Report from Goleta
An account of three days haunting the halls of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics. Read more
by Claire L. Evans, Wild Information on Substack
KITP Newsletter, Spring 2026
KITP’s David Gross wins Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
The Breakthrough Prize Foundation announced David J. Gross, KITP Permanent Member and Chancellor’s Chair Professor in Theoretical Physics at UCSB, as the winner of the 2026 Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. Read more
Shelly Leachman, Editorial Director, UCSB Public Affairs & Communication
KITP Newsletter, Spring 2026
Director's Letter - Spring 2026
The image above shows the start of construction for KITP House! Since I last wrote, we have achieved many milestones. Read more
Lars Bildsten, KITP Director
KITP Newsletter, Spring 2026
Fueling Science at KITP, One Cup at a Time
When KITP’s visitors arrive at Kohn Hall before they dig into their science and collaborations, they wonder, “How do I get into the building? Where is my office?” And of course, “Where is the coffee?”
Read moreDemi Cain, KITP Development Coordinator
KITP Newsletter, Fall 2025
A rewarding dissertation on the strong nuclear force
KITP Postdoc Bruno Scheihing-Hitschfeld is awarded for outstanding dissertation in nuclear physics by the American Physical Society.
Read moreHarrison Tasoff, Science Writer, UCSB Public Affairs & Communications
KITP Newsletter, Fall 2025
The contagious brilliance of Bill Paxton
Bill Paxton ingrained himself into astrophysics, and into the astrophysics community, in an indelible manner.
Read moreHarrison Tasoff, Science Writer, UCSB Public Affairs & Communications
KITP Newsletter, Fall 2025