Julie Bianchini is a professor of science education in the Department of Education. She is also UC Santa Barbara faculty director of CalTeach, part of a UC-wide initiative to recruit diverse STEM undergraduates into K-12 science and mathematics teaching. Bianchini investigates ways to transform science education so that it is accessible, engaging, and relevant to all students.
In her research, Bianchini examines professional learning opportunities for prospective, preservice, and practicing science and mathematics teachers; the teaching and learning of science and mathematics for multilingual learner students; climate change education in teacher education and K-12 classrooms; and more broadly, reform-based science instruction for students of diverse races, cultures, gender identities, and languages. She also has expertise in curriculum development and groupwork instruction. Bianchini has garnered grants for research and scholarships totaling over $9 million. An article based on her dissertation was awarded the 1998 Outstanding Paper in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching. In 2000, she received the Early Career Research Award from NARST, a global organization for improving science education through research. In 2023, she was selected as a NARST Fellow.
Bianchini received both her B.S. in biological sciences and her Ph.D. in curriculum and teacher education from Stanford University. Between degree programs, she taught biology and physics at an all-girls high school in San Francisco. Bianchini served as chair of the Department of Education (2015-21), chair of UC Santa Barbara’s Committee on Admissions, Enrollment and Relations with Schools (2008-10) , and chair of the university’s Undergraduate Council (2023-24). Additionally, for the professional organization NARST, she served as a board member and as a co-chair of the Equity and Ethics Committee (2009-12).