Three professors from the University of California, Davis, have been elected as members of the National Academy of Sciences. They are among 120 new members and 24 international members announced by the academy April 30. 

Members are elected in recognition of their contributions to original research. Membership in the academy is considered one of the highest honors a scientist can achieve.

Environmental toxicologist Christina Pasparakis, who is an assistant professor based at Bodega Marine Laboratory, is the winner of the 2024 UC Davis Award for Innovation and Creative Vision. 

The prize is funded by Susie and alum Riley Bechtel and supports outstanding non-tenured early career faculty. It comes with a $40,000 research award that Pasparakis plans to use to launch a long-term community-based microplastic monitoring program in the Bodega Marine Reserve. 

Georgian cheese bread, cilantro-blackened fish tacos, quesabirria tacos with seitan and cinnamon sugar churros – four culinary creations but only one was crowned winner of the Upcycled Iron Chef Competition at UC Davis.

Listen to this story on UC Davis' Unfold podcast.

Harvesting Intelligence: AI’s Journey From Farm to Table

Artificial intelligence is already changing how people work, communicate online, create art and manage businesses. Now the technology is being used in every aspect of our food systems.

After nearly a century of people building dams on most of the world’s major rivers, artificial reservoirs now represent an immense freshwater footprint across the landscape. Yet, these reservoirs are understudied and overlooked for their fisheries production and management potential, indicates a study from the University of California, Davis. 

California’s wine industry could play a role in reducing methane emissions from dairy cattle.

Researchers at University of California, Davis, added fresh grape pomace left over from winemaking operations to alfalfa-based feed for dairy cows and found that methane emissions were reduced by 10% to 11%. 

The preliminary findings could offer a low-cost sustainable pathway for vineyards to reduce waste while helping dairy operations maintain quality while cutting back on emissions of methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas.

April was a busy month for our barn managers and student residents! We can’t get enough of all the baby animals being born this spring. New life brings so much joy to campus and unparallel hands-on learning for our students who are assisting with the births. Take a look at the photo reel above for a peek at students in action. Our photographer managed to attend the birth of a new foal at midnight, caught several new kids on film at the goat barn, and captured students in action with baby chicks at Picnic Day. 

In a small laboratory brimming with specialized tools, sophomore Jay Chen delicately handles a western meadowlark, its sunny yellow feathers create a peaceful warmth to the task at hand. Chen is preparing the bird specimen for its place at the UC Davis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, or MWFB.

Not far from the lush banks of Putah Creek sits a charming cluster of yellow cottages on the edge of campus that serves as a vibrant hub for studying early childhood development. This setting, once dedicated to the practical art of home economics, has evolved into the Early Childhood Lab School (ECLS), a place where the science of growth meets the heart of care. 

The University of California, Davis, continues to be recognized for its global leadership in the fields of veterinary science, and agriculture and forestry, in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, released today (April 10).

Quacquarelli Symonds, or QS, considered one of the most influential international authorities on university rankings, placed UC Davis second in the world in both subjects.