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The Fallen Angel
“I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel…” — Mary Shelley, Frankenstein Since its first (initially anonymous) publication in 1818, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein has intrigued successive generations of readers and critics while inspiring dozens of cinematic adaptations and re-imaginings. In honor of the novel’s 200th anniversary the Carsey-Wolf Center […]
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Cancer from an Evolutionary Perspective
Humans have a relatively high risk of developing cancer in their lifetimes. But cancer is not unique to humans. Across the tree of life, we can trace cancer vulnerabilities back to the origins of multicellularity. Cancer is observed in almost all multicellular phyla, including lineages leading to plants, fungi, and animals. However, species vary remarkably […]
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Talking with Machines – Artificial Intelligence
With the vast amount of data available in digital form, the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly. If you’ve even been caught on a phone tree with a computer that doesn’t understand what you are saying, you’ll appreciate that scientists are trying to figure out how to teach machines to understand, to communicate […]
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New Ventures from UCSB Students
After eight months of activities and curriculum the UCSB New Venture Competition culminated with six teams presenting a pitch and a question-and-answer session for a panel of expert judges and an enthusiastic audience of peers, faculty and mentors. The finalist teams, pared down from an initial pool of 32, represented diverse technologies and industries. The […]
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Comic-Con 2018
San Diego Comic-Con International is the world’s largest convention devoted to popular culture. Emphasis is traditionally placed on the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres, but over the decades the convention has expanded its scope to encompass a range of genres and topics in a variety of forms, be it motion pictures, television, print, or […]
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Creating a World Resilient to Climate Change
Climate change is creating increasingly uncertain futures for people all over the globe. From melting ice caps, to rising sea levels, to wildfires and drought, every community is feeling the impact. We can react to disasters by providing aid and rebuilding, but how can we get out in front of them? Jacqueline McGlade has spent […]
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The Bright Future for Video Gamers and Esports
Real competition. Real professionals. Real emotions. Esports have come a long way from groups of friends playing video games in the living room. Digital sports now fill arenas and command huge TV ratings, with hundreds of thousands of people watching online. So, what does the future hold for the growing industry? Dave Stewart, the executive […]
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Pathbreaking Environmental Initiatives
Over the past 30 years, arguably the most significant innovation in environmental policy has been the introduction of policy instruments that rely upon market forces to control pollution. You may know it as “cap-and-trade.” This policy debuted in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and has since spread from a focus on acid rain […]
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Golda Meir Through a Feminist Lens
Author and Boston University law professor Pnina Lahav discusses her forthcoming biography, “Golda Meir: Through the Gender Lens.” She explores the first and only woman prime minister of Israel, and her complex relationship with her role as a female leader in a man’s world. As a child, Golda migrated from Russia to Wisconsin and received […]
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Nosferatu with Werner Herzog
Contributed by John Menier “For such an advanced civilization as ours to be without images that are adequate to it is as serious a defect as being without memory.” ― Werner Herzog The Carsey-Wolf Center at UC Santa Barbara has created a series entitled “Hollywood Berlin,” featuring screenings and discussions of films by five prominent […]