Professor Norah Dunbar in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara has received a nearly $600,000 research grant from the U.S. Army Research Office to study how trust develops in teams and how it influences performance. The project is titled ”AI-based Characterization of Trust and Dominance for Team Performance.” Conducted in collaboration with researchers at the University of Southern California, the project will examine how subtle communication behaviors—such as nonverbal signals, interpersonal synchrony, and displays of dominance—shape trust among team members.

Although trust is widely recognized as essential for effective teamwork, scientists still do not fully understand how it forms or how it changes over time. Dunbar’s team will investigate these dynamics by observing teams working together across multiple sessions and by analyzing patterns in how people communicate verbally and nonverbally. The project will also develop new artificial intelligence tools that can automatically analyze team interactions, helping researchers identify behaviors that signal trust, influence, and cooperation. These tools may ultimately make it possible to measure complex team processes more accurately than ever before.

By combining communication theory with advanced machine learning methods, the research aims to produce new insights into how strong, effective teams are built and sustained. The findings may inform strategies for improving collaboration in high-stakes environments, from military operations to business, healthcare, and other team-based settings.

Rene Weber has been elected to become an inaugural Fellow of the Social and Affective Neuroscience Society (SANS; https://socialaffectiveneuro.org/). The Society is committed to research investigating the neural basis of social and affective processes. The election highlights the interdisciplinary nature of Rene's research. The Society was founded in 2008 and now comprises over 400 members.

Alison Oliver, Alan Crawley, and Soumyajit have received a Top Paper Award at the 2026 HICSS. Their paper, titled "Mapping the Moral Foundations of Machines: A Vignette-Based Inquiry into Moral Reasoning Across Six Large Language Model Platforms" will be part of the Proceedings of the 59th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

Hannah will join Michigan State University to be an Assistant Professor in the Department of Advertising + Public Relations in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences beginning in Fall of 2026.

See the UCSB Current Article: “NIH backs UCSB virtual reality project to help older adults build real social connections”. The project will test “how virtual reality can support older adults who are aging at home — and the family members and professionals who care for them.”

Laurent Wang has been hired, beginning Fall 2026 as Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin in the Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations, located within the Moody College of Communication.

Walid Afifi, a professor of Communication and Assistant Dean of Social Sciences here at UCSB, was elected a National Communication Association Distinguished Scholar at the November 2025 annual conference. The award is the highest honor granted by the organization each year. This award highlights those with outstanding records in research, teaching, and service. For full story, see https://www.socialsciences.ucsb.edu/news/national-communication-association-grants-distinguished-scholar-award-dr-walid-afifi