Venkatesan Sundaresan, Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Plant Biology and Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis, has been awarded a 2024 Wolf Prize in Agriculture for key discoveries on plant developmental biology of relevance to crop improvement.

If you asked students what it’s like to take a managerial economics or other class with Kristin Kiesel, they will tell you she is kind, empathetic, a role model and so much more. 

The associate professor of teaching in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics is being awarded the Excellence of Education Award from the Associated Students of the University of California, Davis, or ASUCD.

Winners are nominated by students and the award honors teaching faculty for their dedication to students and undergraduate education.

Patsy Eubanks Owens, associate dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and a professor of landscape architecture, has been elected to the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Council of Fellows. This prestigious honor recognizes her exceptional contributions to the profession and broader communities. Owens is one of this year’s 40 ASLA fellows, one of the highest honors the ASLA bestows on members.

Maci Mueller, who earned her doctoral and master’s degrees in animal biology at UC Davis, is the winner of the 2024 Kinsella Memorial Prize for her leadership and work developing novel breeding technologies for cattle.

Mueller graduated in 2023 and is now an assistant professor at Kansas State University where she focuses on animal genomics and biotechnology.

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. 

They are experts in everything from linguistics to law, from the economics of climate change to the reliability of software. These nine faculty members — eight associate professors and one professor — are UC Davis’ newest class of Chancellor’s Fellows, a title given to early career academics doing exemplary work.

Dr. Bárbara Blanco-Ulate’s lab studies fruit biology and quality, with a particular focus on tomatoes, strawberries, and pistachios. Their research is interested in fruit ripening, fruit diseases, and postharvest physiology and developing new strategies for improving fruit quality, nutrition, and shelf-life.

When Paulina González-Gómez was caught admiring baby birds chirping outside her classroom window, her third-grade teacher cautioned she wouldn’t make a living watching birds. Undeterred, she is now forging a career studying how changes in the environment influence the behavior, physiological traits and life cycles of birds.

The University of California, Davis, this week presented its 2023 Innovation Awards, recognizing faculty, community partners and industry leaders who are developing innovative solutions to improve the lives of others and address important needs in our global society.  

At an in-person ceremony June 13, the university presented awards for Innovator of the Year, Innovative Community Partner and Lifetime Achievement in Innovation. The awards program is managed by the Office of Research.