KITP News Archive

New findings detail a method for investigating the inner workings of stars in a rare phase (Read more)

Now is the time to submit program pre-proposals or full proposals for the 2021-2022 academic year. KITP activities consist of 2-4 month focused research programs. "Pre-proposal" submissions need not be elaborate — a title, at least two paragraphs explaining the idea, suggestions for organizers and key program participants, and an indication of whether you will desire a four day conference as part of the program is adequate. Members of the KITP and the Advisory Board will review these pre-proposals, encourage the development of promising ones into full proposals, and guide coordination of proposals in related areas. Program planning proceeds through Fall 2019 and reaches preliminary conclusions in early February 2020.
These will be of greatest use if they arrive by November 1, 2019.

Professor Jairo Sinova presents "From Magnetic Cats to Artificial Intelligence: the Circular Technological Revolution of Spintronics" — learn more and RSVP at the event page.

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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, 2020. For more information, and to apply, please visit Academic Jobs Online: academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/14183. Apply by November 15, 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.

Over dinner and drinks, KITP Postdoctoral Scholar Benny Tsang will share how recent technologies transform astrophysicists into cosmic detectives, allowing them to decipher the secrets of how stars are born and how they end their lives in spectacular events. Join us on Wednesday, August 28 for café KITP at SOhO Restaurant.

The Spring 2019 KITP Newsletter is now available!

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Working with KITP’s Advisory Board and the international physics community, KITP has developed new programs for the 2020-2021 academic year. Ranging from Ecology and Evolution of Microbial Communities to Integrability in String, Field and Condensed Matter Theory, these twelve programs provide a rich breadth of research opportunities. Applications are now open for participation in all programs. View upcoming 2020-2021 programs and apply at https://www.kitp.ucsb.edu/programs.

Professor Raman Sundrum presents "Fundamental Physics and the Fifth Dimension" — learn more and RSVP at the event page.

(View Flyer)

Two UCSB Physics Faculty Elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

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KITP Postdoctoral Scholar Christopher White and collaborators publish paper with new insights on how black holes accrete matter. (Read more.)

KITP Permanent Member Leon Balents has been appointed co-director of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research's refreshed quantum materials program. (Read more.)

Ten years before the detection of gravitational waves, two KITP postdocs at UC Santa Barbara had a novel idea. (Read more.)

Birds are amazing flying machines, capable of traveling thousands of miles across oceans and continents. To do this, they often exploit "thermals," rising currents of hot air in the atmosphere, to soar high into the clouds. Over dinner and drinks, KITP Graduate Fellow Gautam Reddy will share insights into the fascinating phenomenon of thermal soaring, how birds migrate, and his experiences teaching a robotic glider to soar like a bird. Please note, seating is first-come, first-serve. (Read more.)

When two black holes a billion light-years away collide and merge, the disruption they cause in spacetime is so large that we feel it here, on Earth. Black holes, classical and quantum, hold the key to some of the deepest mysteries of our Universe. Over dinner and drinks, KITP Postdoctoral Scholar Isabel Garcia Garcia will share some of what we have learned about black holes, and how they might help us in our journey towards finding the underlying theory of nature. Please note, seating is first-come, first-serve.

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For decades physicists and mathematicians have debated about the behavior of a particular kind of exotic matter. Now, a team of physicists including Xiao Chen, an associate specialist at UC Santa Barbara’s Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, have gleaned new insights into this phenomenon.

UCSB Press Release

The Fall 2018 KITP Newsletter has now been released!

Fall 2018 Newsletter

The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) at the University of California, Santa Barbara seeks applications for two Permanent Members with a start date as soon as July 1, 2019. 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. Finalists 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. The Institute expects that one of the appointments will be in the field of High Energy Physics, while the other could be in any field of physics.

Duties of a Permanent Member are to carry out research, provide scientific leadership for the Institute, and mentor KITP’s early-career scientists. S/he will have minimal teaching duties with the Physics Department while a working member of the Institute.

A Ph.D. in physics or closely allied field is required at the time of application. Preferred qualifications include: outstanding research in theoretical physics; highly active current research program; demonstrated ability to mentor young scientists, teaching excellence and commitment to intellectual leadership within the discipline.

To apply, please go to https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/apply/JPF01284

Applicants should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, research statement, and three names for references. Letters of reference will be requested only for final candidates.

To receive full consideration, please apply by January 1, 2019. The position will remain open until filled.

Persons interested in the position should contact the Director, Professor Lars Bildsten, at bildsten@kitp.ucsb.edu.

The University is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through research, teaching and service as appropriate to the position.

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 supports visiting researchers in theoretical physics who are faculty at teaching intensive U.S. colleges. Each award funds a total of three round trips and up to six weeks of local expenses. Scientists interested in this program should apply via the form below and upload a vita together with a statement describing their research interests and teaching requirements before November 1, 2018. Each applicant must arrange for at least one letter of recommendation to be submitted by this date.

Yan-Fei Jiang and colleagues — Matteo Cantiello of the Flatiron Institute, Lars Bildsten of KITP, Eliot Quataert at UC Berkeley, Omer Blaes of UC Santa Barbara, and James Stone of Princeton — have now developed a three-dimensional simulation to reveal the inner workings of one of the universe’s most mysterious stars.

UCSB Press Release