Mark Lundy develops tools for farmers for effective nitrogen fertilizer management, working at the interface of research and the ag community.
Barbara Blanco-Ulate studies how fruit and vegetables ripen to improve their quality, nutrition and shelf-life after harvest.
Amelie Gaudin develops sustainable and resilient agroecosystems that have biodiversity and ecosystem services as a basis for improvement.
Brad Hanson works with farmers to control weeds and pests in perenni9al crops, improving both farm profits and the environment.
Bruce Linquist works with the farmers of California to ensure long-term sustainability of rice by looking at nutrient use, water efficiency and reducing pollution.
Giulia Marino empowers farmers to keep their orchards producing despite changes in climate, water and soil.
Grey Monroe seeks the causes and consequences of mutation bias in plant genetics and applies these findings to improve crops’ ability to thrive amid climate stress.
Cameron Pittelkow focuses on increasing crop productivity while reducing agriculture’s environmental footprint.
Li Tian uses biochemistry, physiology and genetics to increase the nutrition of wheat and pomegranates.
Doctoral student Maria Rottersman joins a national fellowship this year that helps early-career scientists pursue their research and develop their careers in food science and agriculture.
Rottersman is now a part of the Rockey Fellowship’s 2024-27 cohort. Hosted by the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research, Rottersman will receive mentoring from industry professionals and have many networking opportunities within her field, while being supported by an annual stipend of $55,000 to cover tuition and living expenses.
During his 20-year tenure as founding director of the UC Davis Genome Center, Richard Michelmore, recruited more than 20 faculty members, led the center to prominence as a hub of technology-driven biology and made national headlines by implementing an innovative, community-scale, saliva-based COVID test. Quite the legacy for someone who never wanted the job in the first place.