Department news

Historic achievement: Five women hold endowed chairs in department

Five women in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences now hold endowed chairs, the first time in the department’s history that so many women have attained this prestigious distinction.

Faculty members Gail Taylor, Amelie Gaudin, Giulia Marino, Li Tian and Leslie Roche all have been appointed to endowed chairs in the last four years. Endowments are dedicated funds, giving researchers the freedom to explore an idea before the concept is fully worked out and ready for grant applications.

Postdocs mingle at college social

Postdoctoral researchers from across the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences gathered today on the lawn in front of Mrak Hall to enjoy coffee, get to know each other and support each other in their unique roles at UC Davis.

Department celebrates diversity of students, faculty

Students, staff and faculty in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences come from a wide range of cultures, from all over the world. To celebrate the strength we find in our diversity, the department for several years has placed an evergreen tree in the lobby of the Plant and Environmental Sciences building amid the year-end holidays, and invites everyone to bring a symbol of their own heritage to hang on the tree.

Yasay accident report released by Davis Police

The UC Davis community continues to mourn the death of Trisha “Tris” Nicole Sabay Yasay, a junior in the Department of Plant Sciences. We send our deep condolences to her family. She is remembered by her friends and colleagues in plant sciences and by the campus community for her vision, energy and enthusiasm for taking what she was learning at UC Davis and using it to better the world.

Great staff hear “thank you” from department leaders

Staff and faculty in the Department of Plant Sciences took time to socialize over coffee and celebrate several colleagues who have reached milestones in their employment with the University of California.

“It takes a team to be the No. 1 in the world for plant sciences, and here we honor the long service of our colleagues and staff,” said Gail Taylor, professor and department chair. “Last year, they helped us to submit 250 grant proposals, to win $35 million in external research funding and to run a world-beating stable isotope service.”

Nature editor visits UC Davis to learn about bioenergy poplar project

Poplar trees stand to transform the bioenergy market – a promising means to mitigate climate change – for the better. Michael White, an editor for the peer-reviewed science journal Nature, recently met with members of the Taylor Lab from the University of California, Davis for a tour to learn how they are developing drought-tolerant poplar trees positioned to sustainably and cost-effectively meet the challenges of our climate emergency.