DEIJ
Benioff Scholars
Propelling future leaders in applied environmental science
Overview
The Benioff Scholars Program in Applied Environmental Science at UC Santa Barbara supports graduate students whose work translates research into real-world environmental solutions. The program is designed to empower UCSB-affiliated students to pursue applied, impact-driven research that addresses urgent environmental challenges.
Program Details
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- Current and incoming UCSB graduate students (PhD or Masters) in good standing.
- Students from any department are welcome; previous recipients are not eligible.
- The potential value of the proposed research for creating or applying solutions to a threat of immediate concern for the environment.
- Demonstrated excellence in academic or professional practice.
- Letter of recommendation from the graduate student’s advisor.
- Contribution to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in environmental sciences.
- A brief abstract that explicitly states how the research funding will translate into near-term action for environmental conservation.
- A full description of the research project explaining its scientific and environmental merit.
- A description of the applicant’s prior research and how it relates to or informs the new work proposed here.
- A brief budget and list of other funding sources related to this research; an explanation of how this award fits into any other research funding available to you this summer.
- Award amounts are $6000 per recipient.
- Grants must be used during UCSB affiliation.
- Recipients submit a final report 9 months after receiving funds.
Past Benioff Scholars
2025
Madeleine Ward
Madeleine Ward
Madeleine studied how changes on coral reefs—especially the spread of macroalgae—affect herbivorous fish to inform fisheries management.
Kinsey Matthews
Kinsey Matthews
Kinsey leveraged joint dynamic species distribution models to reduce fisheries bycatch in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
Natalie N. Dornan
Natalie N. Dornan
Natalie researched how nitrogen moves through the Channel Islands marine ecosystem and how those dynamics can support kelp forest restoration.
Lívia Machado Costa
Lívia Machado Costa
Lívia studied the economic and environmental factors shaping how small-scale cattle farmers engage with deforestation-free supply chains to identify ways to reduce deforestation.
James (Huck) Rees
James (Huck) Rees
James evaluated whether beaver-driven restoration can help solve environmental challenges in California, particularly in the Sierra Nevada.
Mukta Kelkar
Mukta Kelkar
Mukta worked on better understanding how marine protected area design features can make them more resilient to marine heatwaves.
Darwin Lara
Darwin Lara
Darwin investigated hidden neurotoxins produced by cyanobacteria to improve actionable monitoring in freshwater systems.
Olivia Ross
Olivia Ross
Olivia examined how forests recover following high severity fire and drought in the Sierra Nevada
Yutian Fang
Yutian Fang
Yutian used population dynamics modeling to estimate the status of U.S. marine mammal populations to fill critical data gaps and inform species management and conservation.
Have Questions?
Do you have any questions about the program or application? Send them our way!