THE FAMILY OF Lucas Ransom, a 19-year-old chemical engineering major who was killed in a shark attack at Surf Beach in northern Santa Barbara County in October, has established a scholarship in his honor at UCSB to assist economically disadvantaged students in engineering and the sciences.

“Lucas was an incredible young man,” said his mother, Candace Ransom. “By setting up a memorial scholarship fund, his dream to help others will be realized. This scholarship can carry on that legacy to ensure that other students like Lucas, who never thought they could afford to go to such an incredible school, will have the same opportunity.”

In a recent message to the campus community, Chancellor Henry T. Yang expressed the campus’s feelings of heartfelt condolence and profound loss at this tragic event. “We are tremendously honored and grateful that the Ransom family has chosen to establish a scholarship in Lucas’ memory,” said Yang.

Ransom, of Romoland in Riverside County, graduated from Perris High School. He was a competitive swimmer, water polo player, and lifeguard.

Additional contributions to the Lucas Ransom Memorial Scholarship at UC Santa Barbara can be made online at www.ucsb.edu/parentsfund/index.shtml.