Information in silver text blocks is sponsored by the Retirees Association
https://www.hr.ucsb.edu/retirees-association

Retirees - Join us for an exclusive tour of Pacific Pickle Works!

The UCSB Retirees Association and Principal Pickle & Founder, Brad Bennett, will host this immersive experience, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the mechanics and art of crafting small-batch pickles, pickled vegetables, condiments and more.

Our tour will be at the factory in the Eastside industrial area of Santa Barbara where we will learn about the:

AND we will also have a chance to taste a variety of products and to create our very own dill-icious jar of pickles.

Whether you’re a pickle aficionado or new to the world of brining, join us for this tour by registering with Kim Summerfield, by Friday, May 29.

Cost is $10 cash or Venmo. 

The location is 718 Union Ave. Parking is in very short supply so please let Kim know if you can drive or would need a ride.

Information in blue text blocks is sponsored by the Emeriti Association
https://www.emeritiassociation.org

The software components that support critical infrastructure are riddled with vulnerabilities, whose exploitation could cause service disruption, financial damage, and possibly loss of life.

Although there are efforts, such as OSS-Fuzz, to continuously analyze these components for vulnerabilities, some categories of security bugs are still hard to detect. In addition, the creation of testing harnesses and the generation of effective patches still require substantial effort from human experts.

To address these issues, researchers and practitioners alike have focused on automating the vulnerability analysis and repair process. In particular, DARPA has supported these research efforts with two challenges: the DARPA Cyber Grand Challenge (CGC) in 2016 and the AI Cyber Challenge (AIxCC) in 2025. In these two challenges, participants had to create Cyber Reasoning Systems (CRS) that, in different contexts, had to identify vulnerabilities, exploit them, and provide patches without any human involvement.

In this talk, we take a historical look at these efforts that span a decade, especially in light of the recent advances in Large Language Models (LLMs), and highlight the lessons learned from participating in these competitions, as well as the challenges that still need to be addressed to achieve a completely autonomous vulnerability analysis, triaging, and repair process.

Giovanni Vigna is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of California in Santa Barbara, and the director of the NSF AI Institute for Agent-based Cyber Threat Intelligence and Operation (ACTION) at UCSB. He was the CTO and co-founder of Lastline, Inc., a company that provides anti-malware solutions. Lastline was acquired by VMware, Inc., in June 2020, which, in turn, was acquired by Broadcom, Inc., in November 2023. Since then, Dr. Vigna leads the Advance Threat Prevention group in the ANS business unit at Broadcom.

His research interests include vulnerability assessment, malware analysis, the underground economy, the security of social networks, voting security and misinformation detection, and the applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence to security problems.

He is known for organizing and running, since 2003, a yearly educational Capture The Flag hacking contest, called iCTF, that every year involves dozens of teams around the world. Giovanni Vigna is also the founder of the Shellphish hacking group, who has participated in more DEF CON CTF competitions than any other group in history.

The UCSB Emeriti Association seeks your support to continue our important work on your behalf.  Since we no longer charge annual dues for membership, we depend on your donations to continue to offer a range of programs, including webinars, social events, bike rides, guided nature walks, critical Promise Scholar support, and an oral history project that documents emeriti achievements and campus history.

Your Emeriti Association representatives actively participate in the Council of University of California Emeriti Associations (CUCEA), advocating for emeriti benefits, privileges, and rights at the Systemwide level.  Please see our website for more information about the Association and current events. 

Your Emeriti Association representatives actively participate in the Council of University of California Emeriti Associations (CUCEA), advocating for emeriti benefits, privileges, and rights at the Systemwide level.  Please see our website for more information about the Association and current events. 

Dear fellow emeriti,

I hope you have been able to participate in some of the superb webinars and events that your UCSB Emeriti Association has sponsored this academic year.  In order to guide our planning for next year’s programming, we encourage you to complete the Survey of Emeriti Interests. 

On behalf of the Planning Committee.

Bill Ashby, Chair
ashby@ucsb.edu

Bike Rides for Emeriti and Retirees

SB Emeriti Association presents an ongoing series of bike rides for emeriti and retirees on Tuesday mornings from 9 am to @ 11:30 am. Next rides are June 2, July 7, August 4 and September 1.

Meet at the east end of Shoreline Park Parking lot above the Harbor for a 15- mile ride. Breakfast location will probably be Jeannine’s, but riders choose.

Please arrive early enough to prepare your bike. Write to Bill Prothero, prothero@ucsb.edu, if you want to join or have questions.

Information in brown text blocks is for
emeriti and retirees
https://www.hr.ucsb.edu/emeriti-retirees-center

Meet with Andrew Fung, Fidelity NetBenefits. Next in-person, 45-minute appointment dates are on the following Thursdays: June 4; July 16; August 13; September 13.

What will you learn in this seminar:

This webinar is the last in UC's three-part Confident Retiree series called, "Legacy Planning - Peace of Mind for You and Your Loved Ones." Who should attend?
Anyone interested in learning about planning for future generations.

Navigating Market Volatility Webinar
Friday, June 26 , noon to 1 pm, via Zoom

What we will discuss:

Tech Tips for Travel Webinar
Tuesday, June 30, 10 am

In this webinar, Judi Franz, a liaison for UC Retirees Travel, will discuss useful travel apps, international data plans, handy tech accessories, and much more. You will learn ways to manage your technology and ways your technology can help you with everything from planning your trip through clearing customs on your way home. Following Judi's presentation, Sue Barnes, coordinator for UC Retirees Travel, will provide an overview of the travel program and upcoming UC Retirees Travel trips.

Attacks against UC retirees: Staying safe in a digital world

Following up on recent attempts to defraud UC retirees, UCNet has created a new webpage delineating what the University of California is doing to protect you and what steps you can take to keep yourself and your data safe. 

The Charting The Journey to a Fulfilling Retirement webinar series offers a valuable opportunity to do just that. This national series frames retirement as a period of reinvention rather than withdrawal, and introduces fresh perspectives on purpose, identity, health, cognitive vitality, and engagement beyond full-time academic work. Instead of focusing narrowly on logistics or financial planning, it encourages faculty to think more broadly about what comes next—and invites institutions to think more intentionally about later-career pathways.

Missed the webinars? You can view the recordings here.

Information about Rehired Retirees is Now Located on the Emeriti Retirees Center website.

The Emeriti Association's recorded webinars are on hiatus as we remediate them to meet current accessibility standards. They will be re-loaded as soon as possible. Questions? Contact Ellen Pasternack, or call 805-893-2168.

Ellen Pasternack

Coordinator
Emeriti Retirees Center
Ellen.Pasternack@hr.ucsb.edu
(805) 893-2168