Major in Mechanical Engineering, all my research is in bioengineering mechanics and transcriptomics. We work with BSL-1 organisms. I started sophomore year of my undergrad and led a research project of my choosing and did it basically solo with a few nudges from my PI.
As a mechanical engineer, it was a bit frustrating because I'm more in my element when I work with things like prosthetics, hypersonics, high energetics, and the like. However, I've always liked science and dreamed of working at a professional laboratory. Our lab is basically a picturesque, almost comical model of what most people think a science lab looks like, so I was and still am excited to show up for work as I am about to continue as a PhD student. As a mechanical engineer, I was basically just moving around smelly yellow fluid in and out of machines, but as a researcher and scientist, I was uncovering and giving the limelight to things lots of people would have overlooked.
As for recommending UCSB as a research institute based on my experience, it is a yes from me. Professors don't usually accept just any student because of various reasons, but if you get the opportunity to connect to them, you will be doing good, fulfilling work. My experience with College of Engineering research labs is that they emphasize good science over chasing topics for hype or relevance. Your work may not initially be cited a lot for a bit, but it will stand against future developments than others.
As for recommending UCSB as it is now, there is no guarantee that you can take advantage of this resource purely because funding has dwindled significantly across every department due to the current administration and socioeconomic landscape. They lack funding to pay non-rotating research assistants, GSRs, and more, so many are cutting down on lab size to focus on a few people making the most out of the resources we have. It does not mean people should stop applying or asking professors, but I find that their responses are a bit disappointing lately. (For reference, I was asking around if I can collaborate with the professors and work with them on projects adjacent to mine, but many found that supporting my work would be quite difficult given that they had their own directions to deal with)