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Greetings! 

UC Santa Barbara is back in session and we have a full and exciting year ahead of us.  The Institute is pleased to continue to offer a wide variety of programs and initiatives that advance our mission of improving how energy is produced and used.  Thank you for your support and partnership.  We look forward to seeing you at our events, to working with you in the lab and staying in touch with you online through our website and social media sites.  

I also want to share the news that the National Research Council Rankings of U.S. Doctoral Programs were released yesterday and UC Santa Barbara did extremely well. Most notably, the Materials Department at UCSB ranked first in the nation. Others in Engineering and Science did extremely well, with Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Geography, Marine Science, Mechanical Engineering, Physics all having graduate programs with ranking ranges in the top five. The full data and an explanation of the methodology is available at the National Academy Press website.

John Bowers
Director
 

Institute News

2010-2011 Graduate Student Fellowships
The Institute has announced its second cohort of graduate student fellows. Five Holbrook Foundation Fellowships were made possible by the generous support of George and Tara Holbrook. These fellowships are awarded to incoming PhD students to help recruit top graduate students to UC Santa Barbara. Two Peter J. Frenkel Fellowships were also awarded, these fellowships assist top-ranked senior PhD students working in one of the Institute's six Solutions Groups. Read More...

Institute Welcomes Three New Staff Members
The Institute is pleased to welcome new staff members David Auston, Jen McJannet and Lauren Ferguson. David Auston has been appointed Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Efficiency. He brings to the Institute deep experience and knowledge both in the science on which we're focused and in institutional administration. As executive director, Auston will be responsible for defining, developing and executing a phased strategic plan for the Institute's growth and visibility. Jen McJannet is the Institute's new Director of Corporate Relations and Outreach, in which capacity she will manage the Institute's partnerships with industry, government and other organizations. McJannet is a successful entrepreneur with a background in corporate and environmental law. Our new Financial Manager, Lauren Ferguson, brings to the Institute expertise she has gained as a financial analyst for the Center for Energy Efficient Materials. Visit our staff webpage to view complete bios of David, Jen and Lauren.
 

Technology News: high-speed, high-efficiency optical data link

Revolutionary Intel Chip Uses Light to Send Data
Institute Director John Bowers recently collaborated with Intel to develop hybrid silicon lasers. This collaboration resulted in Intel's prototype high-speed optical data link, which is integrated onto silicon. The Silicon Photonics Link supports data transfers at rates of up to 50Gbps and will revolutionize integrated computing by bringing together two technological areas that transformed communications and computing in the last century: photonics and microelectronics. By merging these two technologies, silicon photonics has the potential to reduce the energy required to transmit data on and off chips by a factor of ten or more. For more on this exciting new technology, read an article showcasing the link from optics.org or view a video in which John Bowers and his Intel colleagues describe the impact and significance of the 50G Silicon Photonics Link.
 

Featured Videos

Santa Barbara Summit on Energy Efficiency
This past May, the 2010 Summit on Energy Efficiency was a huge success and we are grateful to all speakers, sponsors, and attendees for their participation. If you were unable to attend the 2010 Summit, you can now view session videos and speaker presentations on our website. (Mark your calendars, the 2011 Summit on Energy Efficiency: Science and Technology for a Sustainable Energy Future will be held April 26-27.)