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
See brief story and news teaser at https://keyt.com/news/2025/11/26/ucsb-mri-research-reveals-mental-health-roots-of-gaming-addiction/
Bedlam Oak won a top student paper award from the Organizational Communication Division of Western States Communication Association for the 2026 conference in San Diego. The title is "Resistance within resistance: The formation of spontaneous activist coalitions." Here’s the abstract: “The 2023-2024 academic year saw a surge in student protest organizing across the U.S., with over 130 encampments established in response to the war in Gaza. This single-campus case study examines the formation of such a movement and the challenges inherent in its organizing. Through interviews with activists and the construction of a detailed timeline, we trace how a unified coalition formed spontaneously in the days after the war began, evolved throughout the academic year, and ultimately fractured into two opposing groups due to internal conflict. We theorize that such Spontaneous Activist Coalitions (SACs) develop as a resistance to existing institutional decision-making structures when these structures limit how members respond to a social crisis.”
On recent work by Robin Nabi and other researchers: Press release, transcript, and podcast by Allison Aubrey of NPR’s Morning Edition, Oct 27: “Got 3 minutes? This habit may help boost hope and reduce stress”... https://www.npr.org/2025/10/27
On recent work by Andy Merolla and Jeffrey Hall: Press release, transcript, and podcast by Willis Arnold and Meghna Chakrabarti of NPR’s On Point, October 10, 2025: “The big impact of small interactions”... about their new book The Social Biome: How Everyday Communication Connects and Shapes Us.
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2
Breanna has been honored with a Top Master's Thesis award from the National Communication Associations for her thesis titled: Motives for and Consequences of Deception in Romantic Relationships.