Awards

Rahel Sollmann, an assistant professor in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, is a 2020 recipient of a Hellman Fellowship. She is the only CA&ES faculty member this year to receive the honor.

Plant pathologist Joanne Emerson is one of 76 scientists from across the nation to receive significant federal funding from the Department of Energy (DOE) in its Early Career Research Program.

Emerson is an assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Plant Pathology who studies soil viruses, virtually unknown members of the soil microbiome with a potentially significant influence on biogeochemical processes in many different terrestrial ecosystems. She will receive at least $150,000 per year from DOE for five years to cover personnel and research expenses.

A team of scientists affiliated with the UC Davis Foods for Health Institute and entomology professor Bruce Hammock are among the recipients of the 2020 Chancellor’s Innovation Awards, which recognize faculty, project teams and community partners for their work, dedication and success in improving the lives of others and addressing the needs of society.

Gwen Chodur is the 2020 recipient of the Neal Van Alfen and James MacDonald Graduate Student Award for her research in molecular and nutrigenomic nutrition and her commitment to social justice, food literacy and food security.

“The quality and scientific merit of Gwen’s work is outstanding,” said her major professor, Francene Steinberg, chair of the Department of Nutrition. “She is an exceptionally strong student with good analytical, statistical, critical thinking, writing and organizational skills. She is also a wonderful teacher and mentor who enjoys working with students.”

Jennifer Schmidt, a Ph.D. candidate in plant sciences, has been selected as the 2020 recipient of the Kinsella Memorial Prize for outstanding research on a doctoral dissertation.

Professor Kyaw Tha Paw U carries a cheat sheet of sorts to class, with thumbnail photos and names of his students. Across a sea of faces, this personal class roster helps him learn each of their names, an effort he takes very seriously.

“He learned everyone’s names,” a student wrote on a class evaluation. “In doing so, I knew he could call on me at any time, which caused me to always pay attention. Amazing professor!”

Grace Woodmansee, a graduate student in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis, received the Young Professionals Conclave (YPC) Outstanding Early Career Award at the national Society for Range Management (SRM) annual meeting, held in Denver, Colorado in February.

Pam Ronald, a distinguished professor in the Department of Plant Pathology, has a vivid memory from the day she arrived in Sweden in 1984 to begin a year as a Fulbright Scholar at Uppsala University.

“I was a young student who had just landed at the Stockholm airport, wondering how I was going to recognize my host, Professor Nils Fries,” Ronald said. “My anxiety vanished when I saw a kind-looking man waving a stick with a Boletus edulis stuck on the end of it.”

The National Academy of Sciences announced today (April 30) the election of 125 members, including UC Davis’ Pam Ronald, distinguished professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Genome Center.

Of the 100 new national members, 40 are women — a record number and percentage in an academy election. This year’s class also includes 25 foreign associates. They join an academy that includes 190 Nobel Prize winners.

The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) named UC Davis animal scientist Frank Mitloehner the 2019 Borlaug CAST Communication Award recipient. Mitloehner, a professor and air quality extension specialist in the Department of Animal Science, is the 10th recipient of this award.