UCSB Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

05/22/2026

is ranked #3 academic institution in the world for automation and control by the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities 🏆

At the heart of this success is the Center for Control, Dynamical Systems, and Computation!

Learn more 👉

An interdisciplinary field that is focused on the study of how the nervous system generates perception, behavior and cognition.

05/21/2026

🏆 Congratulations to ECE Professor and Aeluma CEO Dr. Jonathan Klamkin on receiving the prestigious IPRM Award from Compound Semiconductor Week!

The award recognizes his pioneering contributions to InP and GaAs photonic and electronic materials and their heterogeneous integration on mismatched substrates.🔬

"The award reflects the wonderful mentors, colleagues, researchers, and engineers I've worked with throughout my career." – Dr. Klamkin

Dr. Klamkin will be honored at the CSW Conference on May 25 in Kumamoto, Japan. We're so proud! 🎉

Read more here👇
tinyurl.com/apx9phhc

The Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering
UC Santa Barbara

05/20/2026

🏥Congratulations to ECE Prof. Ramtin Pedarsani's team on receiving a UC Noyce Initiative award to develop robust vision-language models for clinical applications — part of a $3.4M UC-wide research push for computational health and cybersecurity.🤖

🔗https://tinyurl.com/mm9jb8x

The Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering, UC Santa Barbara

05/18/2026

🔬How do you study thousands of neurons at once? You build better tools.

ECE Prof. Spencer Smith's SLAB Lab designed a scan angle multiplier that achieves the laser scanning trifecta: high speed, high resolution, and a larger area.🧠⚡

"…we want to see hundreds of neurons, thousands of neurons, with the ultimate goal of being able to look at how individual neurons work together across the entire brain." – Postdoc Che-Hang Yu

This paper was published last week in Optica, and spin-out company Pacific Optica is now bringing this tech to labs worldwide.🌎

📜https://tinyurl.com/36j7pa3d

The Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering UC Santa Barbara

05/15/2026

🎉Congrats to ECE undergraduate Roland Yin on receiving the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship — one of the most prestigious honors in STEM!🏆

Roland investigates kagome superconductors for quantum sensing applications, including RF detection in quantum computers.⚛️🔬

"Receiving the NSF GRFP is both exciting and deeply validating…it affirms that I have the potential to grow into an independent researcher" – Roland Yin

Selected from nearly 14,000 applicants, the GRFP provides $159,000 in support over five years. A well-earned honor!👏

We can't wait to see where your PhD journey takes you!🎓

The Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering UC Santa Barbara

🔗https://tinyurl.com/63h5hvfz

05/13/2026

🎉 Congratulations to ECE Professor James Buckwalter on being inducted as a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors!🏆

His work on high-speed integrated circuits & III-V CMOS architectures is pushing the limits of next-gen wireless, photonics, and satellite communications.🛰️

He also co-founded PseudolithIC to bring these innovations to market, turning UCSB research into real-world impact.💡

UC Santa Barbara The Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering

🔗 tinyurl.com/ubk93ahf

05/05/2026

The Robert Mehrabian College of Engineering is launching METL — the Master of Engineering & Technology Leadership — the first fully online master's degree at UC Santa Barbara, built for working tech professionals around the world.

Tailored for early- to mid-career tech professionals, METL builds a foundation in leadership and technology management alongside deep technical expertise in 1 of 4 tracks:

⚙️ AI & ML for Science & Technology
⚛️ Quantum Information
🔬 Semiconductor Technology
📈 Technology Management

The inaugural METL class starts Fall 2027. Applications open in September.

Learn more 👇
🚀 https://engineering.ucsb.edu/news/METL_Launch
🔗 https://metl.engineering.ucsb.edu

04/09/2026

Big news from our department! 🚀 Prof. Daniel Blumenthal and his group, in collaboration with , have demonstrated a chip-scale stabilized laser for trapped-ion quantum systems.

By shrinking room-sized tech down to the size of a deck of cards, they’ve achieved 99.6% SPAM fidelity – outperforming bulky lab standards. This paves the way for portable quantum sensors and scalable computing. 🛰️🔬

🔗https://bit.ly/4vgq7Wt

04/07/2026

Our Electrical & Computer Engineering program climbed to No. 13 among public universities and No. 25 overall in the 2026 graduate rankings — up two spots! 📈😼

And in the 2025 Leiden Rankings, ranked #1 among U.S. public universities in engineering & physical sciences research impact.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/4smRU4N 🔗

03/30/2026

The University of California has officially secured the #1 spot in the nation for U.S. utility patents!🚀🥼

With 571 patents granted in 2025, UC generates nearly twice as many inventions as the second-place university.

According to the UC Santa Barbara Office of Technology & Industrial Alliances (TIA), UC Santa Barbara holds 389 active patents. This fosters a strong connection between UCSB and industry collaborators💪

Full story: ow.ly/j8VU50Yx5Hg

UC is No. 1 in a National Academy of Inventors ranking of U.S. schools granted the most U.S. utility patents released today, March 19. Patents are a key driver of economic success and quality of life.