This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. Vikram Mubayi | Credit: UCSBFamily and friends are mourning after the death of a UC Santa Barbara graduate student. Vikram Mubayi, who was entering the fifth year of his PhD program in UCSB’s Chemical Engineering Department, was found dead on the evening of August 3 in the Big Pine Lakes area of Inyo National Forest. According to a Reddit post, Mubayi last updated family with his coordinates while hiking there at around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 1. A search-and-rescue effort that included the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office, Inyo County Search and Rescue, and California Highway Patrol later followed, with highway patrol recovering Mubayi on Monday.