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 perennial 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.
Graduate student Amrit Pokhrel has secured a place in the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research Fellows program. He is one of 30 students across the United States and Canada this year to become an FFAR fellow.
FFAR’s Rockey Fellowship program is an opportunity for up-and-coming food and agricultural scientists to develop leadership and professional skills. Students will also receive two mentors from the foundation, which is a non-profit, public-private partnership established by the U.S. Congress.
Graduate student Ava-Rose Beech co-led her undergraduate team through the trenches of a national soil judging conference in a first for the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences. The team tied for fifth place in the group soils judging category, and highlights the intersection of plant and soil sciences.
Zhenglin Zhang, a Ph.D. student who studied with the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, has received the Kinsella Memorial Prize for writing a dissertation that is original, of high quality and multidisciplinary.