It is well known that inside nearly every living cell on this planet, there are instructions powering the dynamics of everything in the cell, known as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Enoch Yeung, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UC, Santa Barbara, explains how DNA is the genetic code that tells cells where to live, how to live, and how to adapt when things get tough. Editing DNA has unlocked new potential in biology, enabled new therapeutics, diagnostics, and modes of treating diseases. Since DNA is double-stranded, it literally maintains a backup copy of itself to proof-read and facilitate stability of code. The double-stranded nature of DNA also means it can sometimes encode two messages in a given length! In short, DNA is amazing. Series: "GRIT Talks" [Science] [Show ID: 41040]

Nature has been running chemistry experiments for over 4 billion years—yet today, much of modern organic chemistry still depends on wasteful, resource-heavy methods that rely on oil-based solvents. These solvents aren’t recycled, and when burned, they release CO2, adding to climate change. But what if chemistry could be done differently? Bruce Lipshutz, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at UC Santa Barbara, shows how it’s possible to carry out organic reactions in water—nature’s own solvent. His research demonstrates that chemistry in water isn’t just more sustainable, it can also be faster, cheaper, and more effective than traditional approaches. Series: "GRIT Talks" [Science] [Show ID: 41029]

We’re surrounded by digital devices—from phones and tablets to streaming platforms and social media. With so many options at our fingertips, each of us faces choices about when and how to use technology in ways that align with our goals and values. In this talk, Kristy Hamilton, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at UCSB, shares research on how digital media shapes the way we see ourselves and, in turn, influences our everyday technology use. Hamilton uses experimental methods to study the strengths and challenges of human memory and cognition in digital environments, with the aim of helping people become more effective thinkers in today’s media landscape. Series: "GRIT Talks" [Science] [Show ID: 41030]

Language and the law is a field growing in size and importance. While some forensic linguistics applications -- e.g. authorship attribution -- have a wider tradition, this growth is particularly acute in the domain of legal interpretation, which is increasingly using corpus data and methods. Stefan Gries, Professor of Linguistics at UC Santa Barbara, discusses two recent applications. One is from recent work as an expert witness for a law firm; it is a more quantitative application and concerned with authorship attribution in an internet trolling case. The other is concerned with more quantitative and qualitative research for an amicus brief to the Supreme Court. Series: "GRIT Talks" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 41041]

Batteries have become an essential component of our daily life. They power our smartphones, laptops, tablets, and many of the cars around us. They are also key to the renewable energy transition. Building better batteries requires the design of materials whose chemical composition and structure evolve drastically on charge and discharge, yet those changes must be perfectly reversible for the device to sustain hundreds or thousands of charge-discharge cycles. Raphaële Clément, Associate Professor of Materials Department at UC Santa Barbara, explains why this is a challenging task that necessitates an atomic-level understanding of the inner workings of battery materials. Clément is working to establish materials design rules and optimize materials processing approaches to advance electrochemical energy storage. Series: "GRIT Talks" [Science] [Show ID: 41031]

Artist and filmmaker Tom Kalin joins moderator Bhaskar Sarkar (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a discussion of his 1992 film Swoon. Kalin discusses the historical background of the film (the famous 1924 Leopold and Loeb murder case), how he reimagined the case through the lens of queer desire, and how he conducted archival research into the central figures of the murder. Kalin also discusses how his background and training as a visual artist fed into his work in feature-length film making. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40927]

Film producer Liz Yale Marsh and mustang wrangler West Taylor join moderator and co-producer Wendy Eley Jackson to discuss their work on the documentary Facing the Falls, which follows disability rights advocate Cara Elizabeth Yar Khan and her twelve-day expedition through the Grand Canyon. They explore how Yar Khan’s muscle disease provided a unique challenge to navigating the Grand Canyon, as well as how Marsh and Jackson came onto the film in post-production and helped to finish the project. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40926]

Filmmakers Natasha Merkulova and Alexey Chupov join moderator Sasha Razor (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) to discuss their film Captain Volkonogov Escaped. Merkulova and Chupov share how they work as a film making team, how they researched the period of Stalinist purges in the 1930s, and how they sought to make the period of the film feel contemporary. They go on to discuss their experience working with lead actor Yura Borisov, who gained wider recognition for the 2024 film Anora.

Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40925]

Eric Faden (Bucknell University) discusses his work on the Japanese Paper Film Project, a project that has been preserving paper films made in Japan in the 1930s. Koto player Yoko Reikano Kimura and cellist Hikaru Tamaki (Duo Yumeno) joins Faden and moderator Alex Lilburn (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) to talk about how the preservation work was carried out and their experiences presenting the digitized films with live musical accompaniment. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40924]

Enjoy an aerial tour of Storke Tower at UC Santa Barbara. Series: "UC Landmarks" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40984]