Awards

Each year we honor a handful of undergraduate students who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments in the areas of academic excellence, distinctive leadership and community or public service. Eight of these students will be honored at the CA&ES commencement ceremonies at UC Davis on Friday, June 15.

Ellie Yin receives award for doctoral research examining probiotics and health

Xiaochen (Ellie) Yin, who recently completed her Ph.D. in food science, has been awarded the John E. Kinsella Memorial Prize for outstanding research on her doctoral dissertation examining probiotics and health.

Interest in probiotics has grown significantly with consumers in recent years and is now a leading sector of the food supplement market. However, probiotics research is still in its early stages—with promising but sometimes inconsistent outcomes regarding beneficial effects.

Honors and accomplishments for CA&ES faculty, staff and students

From Academic Senate and Federation faculty awards to national and campus advising awards to superior scholarly achievements, CA&ES faculty, staff and students are in the limelight this month with a raft of recent acknowledgements for a job well done.

Frank Zalom, an integrated pest management (IPM) specialist and distinguished professor of entomology, is the recipient of the 2017 B.Y. Morrison Medal, established in 1968 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS). He is the first entomologist to receive the award.

‘Putting Youth on the Map’ wins IT Sautter Award

An interactive website called “Putting Youth on the Map” has landed UC Davis on a different map, as a top winner in the UC system’s annual Larry L. Sautter Award Program for Innovation in Information Technology. 

Blum Center student fellows address poverty in developing nations

Six College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES) undergraduates were part of a group of 26 students recently selected to be 2017 summer fellows sponsored by the UC Davis Blum Center for Developing Economies. The newest cohort of Poverty Alleviation through Action Summer Fellows will tackle issues in poverty and inequality in 14 countries, including the United States.

The late agriculture pioneer receives UC Davis Medal

Chancellor had already been notified that he would receive the UC Davis Medal at the time of his death in February 2017 at the age of 85, and was immensely honored to have been selected for this distinction. Over almost 60 years at UC Davis, Chancellor was internationally known as a pioneer in studying energy use and information technology in agriculture, working both in California and around the world. He had a special interest in how small farms adapt to mechanization.

Plant scientist wins a UC Davis Innovator of the Year Award

Dubcovsky is a world-renowned wheat breeder and wheat geneticist whose recent innovation has greatly accelerated the study of gene function in wheat. His laboratory developed a gene capture tool and used it to sequence most wheat genes in a collection of 2,700 mutant lines.

Commencement is a major milestone for our graduates

Congratulations to the 1,705 undergraduate students who will cross the stage at one of two CA&ES commencement ceremonies on Sunday, June 18. This is a major milestone in their lives.

Our graduates can take pride in their hard-earned accomplishments. Graduating with a UC Davis Bachelor of Science degree will unlock many doors of opportunity for them. And society needs their ambition, creativity, and dedication to improve the lives of people in California, the nation, and the world.

Seven outstanding students will be honored at the CA&ES commencement ceremonies, to be held at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 18, in the UC Davis ARC Pavilion. Tiffany Do will receive the College Medal for scholastic excellence. Valerie Fates and Jessica Jones will receive the Mary Regan Meyer Prize for a demonstrated expertise and an interest in serving humanity. Kat Perkins and Devin Murphy will receive the Charles Hess Community Service Award for outstanding public or community service during their undergraduate years.