Students and education

Amanda Crump and Marina Vergara, of the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, have won a federal grant to use the cacao value chain as a point of both learning and international engagement for students here and at La Salle University in Bogotá, Colombia.

Eduardo Blumwald sees them every year: the freshmen in his courses who wrestle with basic scientific concepts. The father of three knew he could help ‒ by providing relatively simple information about advanced research to high school teachers.

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The 12th annual UC Davis Plant Sciences Symposium 2023 will focus on "Plants in the climate crisis," with an outstanding line-up of speakers tackling the 21st century's most significant global challenge.

Nearly 40 high school students dropped iodine into test tubes during a special class recently at UC Davis. They wanted to see if certain genes affecting the starch in potatoes had been passed on to the plants being tested in the little tubes.

Ten UC Davis students and postdoctoral researchers recently attended the annual Vegetable and Flower Conference of the American Seed Trade Association. They enjoyed the opportunity to showcase their research during poster sessions, hear speakers and network with people in the industry. More than 800 seed professionals from 33 countries attended.

Among those attending from the Department of Plant Sciences were:

Maria Alejandra Ponce de Leon

From Chilean tidepools to the High Sierra, 12 UC Davis graduate students traveled the world during the summer of 2022 in search of answers to ecology’s most pressing questions.

When UC Davis recruiters visit high schools and community colleges, they have new reasons to encourage students who might not usually think of college. The Department of Plant Sciences Multicultural Scholars Program now offers financial support to California students from under-represented communities to help them pursue a career in the field.

Students learned the value of self-reflection, bold thinking, perseverance and forming relationships in a recent workshop encouraging them to apply to graduate school.

"Science needs you!" was the most important message students heard. But how to get there?

A student-led effort in the Melotto Lab has earned a 2022 Lab Safety Award from UC Davis Safety Services office. “Their vigilance and commitment to safety have resulted in zero findings during lab inspections for two years running,” the safety office said.

Matthew E. Gilbert has been honored with a Program Advising and Mentoring Award by UC Davis Graduate Studies for 2022. Gilbert is an associate professor and vice chair of crops and ecosystems in the Department of Plant Sciences.

“Student well-being, both academically and mentally, is so important, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Gilbert. “For that reason, I became chair of the Graduate Student and Post-doctoral Welfare Committee, which is a sub-committee of Graduate Council.