KITP News Archive

How Bad is the Reactor Meltdown in Japan?

Understanding the Fukushima Reactor Meltdown from a Physics Perspective
[Read more...][Download]

KITP Public Lecture, Wednesday, March 23, 2011, 8:00 pm

Professor Edward van den Heuvel presents "Life After Stellar Death: Supernovae, Neutron Stars, Pulsars and Black Holes"
[Flyer] [Public lecture page]

Remote Teaching Facility

Want to try teaching remotely? KITP can help.
[Read More...]

KITP Public Lecture, Wednesday, January 19, 2011, 8:00 pm

Professor Bonnie Bassler presents "How Bacteria Talk to Each Other"
[Flyer] [Public lecture page]

Song Contest - Samples from the past

Preparing your contest entry? check here for past submissions. All entries due 12 noon on December 8, 2010.

Submit a Suggestion for a KITP Program

Decisions for the programs for the 2012-2013 academic year will be made in February 2011.  Submit a proposal suggestion now.  We need your ideas!
[Letter from the Director] 

UC Santa Barbara Astrophysicist Lars Bildsten Appointed to Endowed Chair at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics

UC Santa Barbara astrophysicist Lars Bildsten, a permanent member of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, has been awarded the Wayne Rosing, Simon and Diana Raab Chair in Theoretical Astrophysics in recognition of his pioneering contributions to the discipline.

[Full Story]

What Does Theoretical Physics Bring to Biology?

First Incumbent of Susan F. Gurley Chair Discusses Ideas That Animate His Research.

Graphene May Change the Way the World Works

But what rivets theorists’ attention is its electrons behaving like neutrinos.

High Technology Emerges From Low Dimensional Electron Systems

Program on 'Low Dimensional Electron Systems' looks at phenomena with the potential to transform our three-dimensional world.

2010 Kavli Prize Recipients Announced

EIGHT scientists whose discoveries have dramatically expanded human understanding in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience have been recognized with the award of the million-dollar Kavli Prizes.

Unique Eclipsing Binary Star System Discovered by UCSB Astrophysicists

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) - Astrophysicists at UC Santa Barbara are the first scientists to identify two white dwarf stars in an eclipsing binary system, allowing for the first direct radius measurement of a rare white dwarf composed of pure helium. The results will be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. These observations are the first to confirm a theory about a certain type of white dwarf star.

Novel Research Collaboration Leads to Discovery Of 'Fire in the Earth System'

New research perspective sees wildfire as global phenomenon indicative of feedback mechanism whereby widespread fire is both effect and cause of accelerating climate change.

Complexity Expert Plays Key Role Mixing Physics and Ecology

Physicist Jean Carlson catalyzes first ever collaboration between NSF-funded institutes associated with UCSB and engaged in research at the edge of two distinctive scientific fields.

Likely Discovery of Faint and Fast Supernova Confirms Predicted Explosion

An explosion—observable in theory, but never seen on the night sky–emerged a little over two years ago from calculations carried out by a team of astrophysicists, including KITP permanent member Lars Bildsten and postdoctoral fellow Nevin Weinberg, as well as UCSB physics graduate student Ken Shen and Bildsten's long-time Dutch collaborator Gijs Nelemans of Radboud University in Nijmegen. Those calculations enabled the team to predict the existence, in distant galaxies, of a new kind of exploding star or "supernova" that would— when detected—be fainter than most observed supernovae and would rise and fall in brightness in only a few weeks.

Welcome to the KITP's new website!

Not only do we have a new look, we also have a new site structure. You may find that some things have moved, but this will give you an opportunity to explore the site. Report Problems

Planets Beyond the Solar System (Teachers' Conference)

In the 1990's, astronomers discovered the first planets outside the solar system. Since then, in what has become a torrent, more than 360 planets have been found, and the pace of discovery is quickening.
[Conference Page]

Earth’s Climate: More Science Needed

Boldly innovative program probes "Physics of Climate Change."

KITP Public Lecture Wednesday, April 07, 8:00 pm

Professor Adam Burrows presents “The New Century of Exoplanets”

[Flyer] [Public lecture page]

The Curious Case of Cloud Cover Consistency

Cloud physics is the largest source of uncertainty in the short term in predicting the climate.