Instructors

Mayela Aldaz-Cervantes

Mayela got her B.S. in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). She is a fourth year PhD candidate in the Materials Department where she studies oxidation of titanium alloys. She was born and raised in Mexico. In her spare time, she enjoys knitting, reading, traveling, singing, and playing violin in a local mariachi band.

Walter Aminger

Walter is a second year PhD student in the Education Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research interests include Science Education, ELL (English Language Learner) students in Science, inquiry/hands-on approach to education, and technology. Walter grew up in Brazil before coming to Florida, where he pursued his bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and master’s degree in Botany/Education. He loves playing soccer, watching sports and forensic files on TV, teaching, travelling, and listening to good music.

Curtis Asplund

Curtis got his B.A. in Physics from Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio and is currently studying to get his Ph.D. in Physics at U.C. Santa Barbara. He does research on black holes and the physics of the beginning of the universe. He grew up in Orange County, which was nice because he got to go to Disneyland many times. Curtis likes to play guitar, violin, and the ukulele.

Debbie Audus

Debbie is a PhD student in the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research involves using simulations to understand the physics of charged polymers, like DNA, for applications such as biosensors and glues. She grew up in New Jersey and received her bachelor's degree from Cornell University in New York. Outside of research, she enjoys painting, hiking and traveling.

Abhishek Badki

Abhishek is a second year graduate student in the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research interests include Computational Photography, Computer Vision and Graphics. He grew up in India where he got his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. Outside of research, he enjoys reading, listening to music and short movie making.

Daniel Balick

Dan Balick is a PhD student in the physics department at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Deborah Barany

Deborah is a PhD student in the Dynamical Neuroscience program at UCSB.  Her research focuses on the neural computations underlying goal-directed movement, and she investigates this topic using both neuroimaging and behavioral methods. Deborah is originally from Minnesota and earned a B.A. in Neuroscience and Mathematics from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. She enjoys exercising her brain by playing tennis, hiking, playing guitar, and eating popcorn.

Phillip Barton

Phillip is a third year graduate student in the Materials department at UCSB. He studies relationships between chemical composition, crystal structure, and physical properties to help enable the rational design of functional materials. He grew up playing ice hockey in Washington state, went to college in Chicago, and then came to California to see what all the fuss was about. He is enjoying himself here and spends his free time at the beach surfing or up in the mountains skiing and snowboarding.