Kelly Paglia, advisor for the horticulture and agronomy graduate group, received an Award for Excellence in Service to Graduate Students from the UC Davis Graduate Student Association. Students call her "a gem," and Paglia says "we'll get to the end together."
Doctoral students Danyelle Forte and Jonathan Berlingeri have been named fellows to the UC Davis Professors for the Future program, a year-long journey that prepares outstanding candidates for careers in academia and other fields.
Fourth-year doctoral student Brooke Wainwright has received the Neal Van Alfen and James MacDonald Graduate Student Award. The award recognizes outstanding academic performance, service and leadership, and comes with a $7,500 grant.
Wainwright is a plant ecologist in the lab of Jennifer Funk, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences. The Van Alfen-MacDonald award is given by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
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.
Two graduate students the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences — Mia Godbey and Maya Shydlowski — took first place in poster contests at the annual California Plant and Soil conference in Visalia, Calif., hosted by University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources and the California chapter of the American Society of Agronomy.
Four emerging scientists connected to the Department of Plant Sciences -- Forrest Li, Michele Nalle, Cree King and Jonathan Berlingeri -- have been named Borlaug Scholars for 2025 by the National Association for Plant Breeding.
UC Davis plant scientists Eduardo Blumwald and Tom Buckley were named 2024 Highly Cited Researchers by Web of Science. Their influential work on crop stress and plant-water relationships ranks in the top 1% of citations, highlighting global impact.
UC Davis doctoral student Samjhana Khanal received a $50,000 Schlumberger Foundation grant for her research on disease-resistant lettuce using CRISPR. Her work aims to reduce crop losses and support sustainable agriculture, including in Nepal.
Doctoral student Marie Klein, of the Department of Plant Sciences, was part of a team that took first place in the UC Davis Food and Agriculture Business Case Competition. The event brought together teams from several universities to solve a business challenge for global seed company Hm.Clause. Here, team member and MBA student Danielle Kleiner-Kanter describes their journey to first place. She also offers three tips that helped them grow their business plan from idea to presentation.
Leslie Roche has received the Outstanding New Academic Award from University of California Agricultural and Natural Resources. Roche is an associate professor of Cooperative Extension, based in the Department of Plant Sciences. Her research looks at the agricultural, environmental and social aspects of ranching and livestock production.
Researchers have developed best practices for handling walnuts to maintain quality and prevent rancidity. Their award-winning recommendations include timely harvesting, cold storage, and using a color guide to match nuts to the best markets.
UC Davis agronomist Bruce Linquist was named a 2024 Soil Science Society of America Fellow for his leadership in sustainable rice farming. His research on reducing tillage and water use helps farmers cut costs while improving soil health.
Four students connected to the UC Davis Department of Plant Science have received grants from the Milton D. and Mary M. Miller Plant Science Award, which supports learners interested in careers with Cooperative Extension. The 2024 awardees are Maya Shydlowski, Erika Escalona, Sam Dudley and Ben Baldi. All four students said they are eager to share what they are learning with people in the field who need solutions for everyday problems.
