The Department of Physics at UC Santa Barbara has seen exponential growth since its inception in 1944, comprising then just a small handful of students and faculty interested in pushing the limits of scientific discovery. Today the department includes multiple Nobel laureates, 16 National Academy members, and a host of award winning faculty, and is perennially ranked among the nation’s top ten graduate programs. The department’s mission is to provide a world-class education to students that will prepare them for a diverse range of professional careers requiring a strong technical background, to perform cutting-edge research across broad and inter-disciplinary fields, and to communicate the excitement of science both locally and globally.