1. people

Walid Afifi

Professor Associate Dean and Director of Initiatives for Community Engaged Research and Pedagogy Division of Social Sciences

SSMS 4129
Walid Afifi’s project promotes greater diversity and inclusion in communication research by coding and analyzing the sample demographics of published studies in Communication journals to better understand who is represented in the field's body of knowledge.

Tamara Afifi

Department Chair and Professor Communication

SSMS 4119
Tamara Afifi’s research examines how family and relational communication under stress affects personal, relational, and physiological health, and explores information regulation practices like avoidance, privacy, secrets, and stress contagion.

Natchee Barnd

Associate Professor, Department of History of Art & Architecture

Arts 1264
Dr. Natchee Barnd is a scholar of ethnic studies, cultural geography, and Indigenous studies whose work explores how race and space intersect within settler colonial contexts.

Bonnie Basnett

PhD Student, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management

Bonnie Basnett is a PhD student at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at UC Santa Barbara.

Mary Bucholtz

Professor, Department of Linguistics

Sociocultural linguistics; language and identity; language and youth; language and race; language, gender, and sexuality; African American English; Chicano English and Spanish; language in California; discourse, cognition, and culture

Andrea Carlini

Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Dr. Andrea S. Carlini's research focuses on developing dynamic biomaterials and devices using photo-induced processes, particularly through NITEC chemistry, to create fluorescent probes, polymers, and hydrogels for material assembly and reactive oxygen species sensing.

Dolores Inés Casillas

Professor of Chicana/o Studies
CSI Director

1705 South Hall
U.S. Spanish-language media; Chicana and Latina popular culture; radio and sound practices; racial politics of language; accent studies; language learning technologies.

Veronica Castillo-Muñoz

Associate Professor of History
CSI Advisory Committee Member

HSSB 4238
Interested in analyzing the intersections of race, gender, regional, and transnational migration in the Mexico-U.S. borderlands.

Mattanjah de Vries

Distinguished Professor Department Chair, Department of Chemistry

Dr. de Vries, a Professor of Physical Chemistry at UCSB, specializes in laser spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, photochemistry, and the UV photodynamics of DNA.

Bridgette Degnan

Graduate Student Fellow, Department of Anthropology

Bridgette Degnan, a graduate student in Archaeology at UC Santa Barbara, investigates how complex social systems in the Maya region adapt to environmental instability, with interests in economic systems, social networks, and computational archaeology.

Maria del Socorro Gutiérrez Magallanes

Lecturer, Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies & Feminist Studies

María del Socorro “Coco” Gutiérrez Magallanes is a MexChicana scholar whose interdisciplinary work bridges the social sciences and humani

Alexandra Eleazar

Graduate Student, Department of Sociology

Alexandra Eleazar, a PhD candidate with a background in migration, gender, and postcolonial feminist theory, explores the impact of digital labor economies and colonial legacies on privileged migrants in Guatemala.

Amy Gonzales

Associate Professor in Communication
CSI Associate Director

Effects of social interaction via communication technologies on individual identity, social support and well being.

Elisa Halewood

Specialist/Laboratory Manager, Marine Science Institute

3148 MBL
Elisa Halewood, the laboratory manager at UCSB’s Carlson lab, specializes in microbial oceanography and the biogeochemical cycling of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in marine environments.

Aida Hurtado

Professor of Chicana/o Studies
Luis Leal Endowed Chair
CSI Advisory Committee Member

1709 South Hall
Equity issues in education for Chicanas/os, Chicana feminist theory, media representations of Latinos & other ethnic & racial groups, social identity, including ethnic identity

Rachel Lambert

Associate Professor, Department of Education

Education 3147

Dr. Lambert's project examines how nondigital math games can foster  joyful mathematics learning in elementary school classrooms.

Dan Lane

Associate Professor & Grad Director, Department of Communication

SSMS 4417
Dane Lane explores how political communication shapes the landscape of digital media and contributes to patterns of inequality. He analyzes how individuals and groups use communication technologies to engage in political expression, mobilize for change, and challenge or reinforce existing power structures.

Emmanuel Lanuza

Graduate Student, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

CHEM 3242
Emmanuel Lanuza explores the synthesis and characterization of organic semiconductors. His work integrates multiple stages of research including material synthesis, structural and electronic characterization, and data analysis.

Hunter Lenihan

Professor, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management

Bren Hall 3428
Professor Lenihan focuses on population and community ecology, specifically the California fishing communities to develop management strategies for habitat based fisheries and has led long term research on coral restoration in Moorea and French Polynesia.

Hugo Loaciciga

Distinguished Professor, Department of Geography

3626A Ellison Hall
Dr. Loaciciga's research focuses on Hydrology, specifically groundwater hydrology, hydrogeology, water resources, and applied mathematics. He utilizes numerical, statistical, and field methods to problem solve the interactions between humans, groundwater, and surface water.

David Lopez-Carr

Professor, Department of Geography & UCEAP

4836 Ellison Hall / 3212 Phelps Hall
Professor David Lopez-Carr's work examines the dynamic relationships between population change, health, livelihoods, and the environment, with an emphasis on equitable and sustainable development.

María Lumbreras

Assistant Professor/Undergraduate Advisor, Department of History of Art & Architecture

Arts 1256
María Lumbreras, a historian of early modern Iberian art and visual culture, explores antiquarianism, replication, and material experimentation in her research on the intersection of artistic and scientific practices in Habsburg Spain.

Mavel M Marina

International Advisement Specialist & Instructor

Dr. Mavel Marina, an international specialist at UCSB, oversees the Exchange Program for International Academics and Researchers, advising on immigration regulations and managing the paperless system.

Robert Mejia

Lecturer of Communication

SSMS 4121

Robert Mejia's research operates at the intersection of culture, politics, and media / technology.

Nick Nidzieko

Assistant Professor, Department of Geography & Marine Sciences

4316 Marine Science Building
Nick Nidzieko's research examines coastal and estuarine circulation, focusing on kelp forest ecosystems and the role of foundation species in shaping ecological processes.

William Nomikos

Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science

William Nomikos, a scholar in International Relations, focuses on how identity and domestic politics influence international intervention and peacekeeping, with research on civil wars, climate change, and identity politics.

Ryoko Oono

Associate Professor, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology (EEMB)

1116 Noble Hall
Ryoko Oono's research focuses on the evolution of plant-microbe symbiotic relationships, using genetic and experimental methods to study legume-rhizobia interactions and foliar fungal endophytes.

Daniel Oropeza

Assistant Professor, Department of Materials

Prof. Oropeza's research focuses on optimizing manufacturing processes to control material microstructure and performance, integrating material science and mechanical engineering for applications in aerospace, prosthetics, energy, robotics, and hypersonics.

Jaime Perez Gonzalez

Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics

South Hall 3523
Jaime Perez Gonzalez’s research focuses on underrepresented languages of the Americas. This includes Mayan languages (spoken in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras) and Misumalpan languages (spoken in Honduras and Nicaragua).

Erika Prado

Graduate Student, Department of Linguistics

Sociocultural linguistics; linguistic anthropology; community-centered ethnography; critical disability studies; autism; bilingualism; communication technologies; embodiment; Latinx linguistic practices; social justice; Spanish; translanguaging

Anastasia Quintana

Assistant Researcher/Lecturer, Department of Environmental Social Science

Anastasia Quintana is a professional researcher at UCSB focusing on the human dimensions of small-scale fisheries management and coastal conservation, employing mixed methods to study fisherfolk cooperation in the face of global pressures.

Sarah Roberts

Associate Professor of mathematics education, Cognitive Science Program

Equity in mathematics education across the P-20 continuum, mathematics language routines in K-12 education, bilingual mathematics instruction, postsecondary mathematics, and higher education research.

Nick Saglimbeni

PhD Student, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology (EEMB)

Noble Hall 1113
Nick Saglimbeni, a PhD student at UCSB, specializes in optimizing restoration projects in coastal ecosystems affected by invasive Carpobrotus edulis and exploring restoration in the context of changing fire regimes.

Amrah Salomón J.

Assistant Professor, Department of English

SH 2523
Amrah Salomón is currently leading several archival research projects on Indigenous borderlands history. These projects focus on organizing, coding, and cataloging primary source digital files to build comprehensive research databases

Daina Sanchez

Assistant Professor of Chicana/o Studies

1707 South Hall
Transnational Migration and Children of Immigrants; Identity and Community Formation; Oaxaca, Los Angeles

Jessica Santana

Assistant Professor, Department of Technology Management

Jessica Santana’s research examines how entrepreneurs navigate stigma following startup failure, with particular attention to the role of peers, rhetoric, and social networks in the recovery process.

Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj

Associate Professor, Department of Education at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education

Immigrant-origin youth, family-school relationships, educational policy and evaluation, qualitative research methods, school choice, college access, educational equity.

Lior Sepunaru

Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Chem 1161
The Sepunaru Lab specializes in electrocatalysis across both macro and nanoscale dimensions, as well as bioelectrochemistry, with a particular emphasis on biosensor applications.

Bhavna Shamasunder

Professor, Department of Environmental Studies

Bren 4021
Professor Bhavna Shamasunder’s work centers on environmental justice in urban and industrial settings, focusing on the unequal pollution burdens faced by communities of color.

Dario Trujano Ochoa

Ph.D. Candidate at UCSB. Experimental, and Behavioral Economist

North Hall 3047
Dario Trujano Ochoa is a Ph.D. candidate at UCSB in Experimental and Behavioral Economics, focusing on higher-order beliefs, willingness to pay for information, risk preferences, and misinformation.

Young Zhou

Assistant professor, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology (EEMB)

Bio Room 1121
Dr. Zhou studies how ecosystems' process when it comes to responding to global change with a focus on carbon and nutrient dynamics in fire prone environment.