News Archive

KITP Postdoc Bruno Scheihing-Hitschfeld is awarded for outstanding dissertation in nuclear physics by the American Physical Society.
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Now is the time to submit program pre-proposals or full proposals for the 2027–2028 academic year.

Submissions will be of greatest use if they arrive by October 17, 2025.

Since its creation by retired Silicon Valley software designer Bill Paxton, the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA) has illuminated the lives of stars and become a staple for stellar scientists. The Flatiron Institute’s increased support for the project marks a new chapter in the astrophysics tool’s storied history. Read more

The faculty papers of renowned theoretical physicist and string theorist Joseph Polchinski (1954–2018) are now available for research at UCSB Library. The comprehensive archive offers scholars unprecedented access to the works of one of the most influential physicists of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Learn More About the Polchinski Papers

The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) seeks applicants for two Moore Postdoctoral Scholar positions in quantum materials theory, beginning September 1, 2020. This postdoctoral program is part of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems initiative (EPiQS). For more information, and to apply, please visit Academic Jobs Online: academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/14267. Apply by November 1, 2019 for primary consideration. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara expects to appoint Postdoctoral Scholars in theoretical physics, beginning September 1, 2026. For more information, and to apply, please visit https://www.kitp.ucsb.edu/apply/fellowships/postdoctoral-scholars-theoretical-physics.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

An international collaboration to advance condensed matter physics 
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by Lucile Savary, FACTS Director, CNRS Permanent Researcher 
KITP Newsletter, Spring 2025

In the Spring of 2022, KITP hosted the program Bridging the Gap: Accretion and Orbital Evolution in Stellar and Black Hole Binaries. 
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by Paul Duffell, Professor, Purdue University
KITP Newsletter, Spring 2025

Researching one of the most puzzling unsolved problems in physics 
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by Kristi Newton, Senior Director of Development, KITP
KITP Newsletter, Spring 2025

The banner image is a rendering of KITP House, our newest project aimed at enhancing collaborative science for the next century by providing housing for our postdoctoral scholars, graduate fellows and long-term sabbatical visitors. 
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Lars Bildsten, KITP Director
KITP Newsletter, Spring 2025

The Spring 2025 KITP Newsletter is now available! Read more.

Establishing a permanent legacy and named endowment in honor of Glen H. Mitchel, Jr.

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by Kristi Newton, Senior Director of Development, KITP
KITP Newsletter, Spring 2025

The prestigious postdoctoral scholars program at UC Santa Barbara’s Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) has served as a career launchpad for scores of prominent physicists. The highly competitive program receives over 700 applications for the 3–5 positions that open each year. 
Those few spots will likely be even more sought after when KITP unveils its new and rare means of support for its postdocs: a dedicated housing facility. 
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Dark Matter: Discovering the Invisible Universe 
Join KITP Postdoctoral Scholar Amalia Madden to explore the compelling evidence for dark matter, discuss why understanding it is essential to uncovering the history of our Universe, and learn how researchers today are designing innovative experiments to reveal its hidden nature. Learn more about Café KITP.

Professor David Gross honored with the 2025 Basic Science Lifetime Award in Physics, by the International Congress of Basic Science (ICBS), for the discovery of asymptotic freedom and other pioneering contributions to elementary particle physics and string theory. Read more.

Professor Lance Dixon presents "Voyage from Outer Space to Inner Space: From Gravitational Waves to the Higgs Boson" — learn more and join us for this lecture: RSVP in-person or register to watch online.

The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) at the University of California, Santa Barbara seeks applications for a Permanent Member with an anticipated start of Fall 2025. The KITP contributes to all areas of theoretical physics through its programs, conferences, and the research of the permanent members, postdoctoral scholars and graduate fellows. The finalist recommended for hire will be offered a joint appointment as a member of the KITP, and as a tenured ladder faculty member of the University of California, Santa Barbara's Physics Department. All fields of theoretical physics are being considered.

When it’s time for an E. coli bacterium to divide, proteins inside the single-celled organism start to chase each other around. 
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Sonia Fernandez, UCSB Public Affairs, Senior Science Writer
KITP Newsletter, Fall 2024

Scientific excellence drives all of KITP’s endeavors, and it is achieved through unfettered intellectual exchanges between each scientist who visits. 
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Demi Cain, KITP Development Coordinator
KITP Newsletter, Fall 2024