A short documentary about agricultural innovations supported by University of California, Davis, researchers in Cambodia has picked up three awards at the 42nd Annual Telly Awards. It was a collaborative production between the Horticulture Innovation Lab, the Office of Strategic Communications and Max Video Productions in 2019.
Brian Bailey, an assistant professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis, has been recognized by the National Science Foundation, or NSF, with a CAREER award.
The prestigious award – part of NSF’s Faculty Early Career Development Program – is granted to assistant professors or those in equivalent faculty positions who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.
Patrick Brown, distinguished professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, has received the American Society of Plant Biologists’ Dennis R. Hoagland Award and the Leo M. Walsh Soil Fertility Distinguished Lectureship from the Soil Science Society of America, or SSSA.
The Dennis R. Hoagland Award is awarded once every three years to an individual making outstanding contributions to agriculture through plant research, with funds provided by the Monsanto Agricultural Products Company.
“Ice cream in the making” – this is the unusual designation given to alfalfa by Dan Putnam, a Cooperative Extension Specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis.
Alfalfa is often overshadowed by California’s more famous vegetable and fruit crops, like nuts and wine, despite the key roles it plays for our food systems. It’s a highly productive crop that serves as the basis for milk, cheese, leather, honey and wool production. In other words, what lies behind the carton of ice cream on the refrigerator shelf is a field of alfalfa.
Troy Magney, assistant professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, has received the Early Career Award from the American Society of Plant Biologists. The award recognizes outstanding research from scientists who are still within the first seven years after receiving their doctorate degree and who have made exceptionally creative, independent contributions in their field.
Jennifer Funk, an associate professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, has received the inaugural Barbara D. Webster Scholar Award. The award provides a $20,000 grant to support the scholarship of a tenured or tenure-track faculty member who represents excellence in their field, exhibits the leadership abilities to impact their discipline, presents a unique and transformative perspective, and works to advance the representation of women in plant sciences.
Gail Taylor, professor and chair of the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis, has been awarded the John B. Orr Endowed Chair in Environmental Plant Sciences. Taylor broke ground when she became the first female chair of the department in 2017, and is proud to be adding to the small number of women who hold endowed titles just four years later.
“Because few women hold endowed chairs, even at UC Davis,” said Taylor, “I hope this helps inspire other professorial women to apply for awards like this one.”
Paul Gepts, distinguished professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, received the International Crop Science Award from the Crop Science Society of America. The award recognizes positive changes realized for crops at the international level with an emphasis on creativity and innovation.
Gepts, a renowned plant geneticist, has led many international projects and collaborations that focus on the domestication of the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris. In fact, more than 40 percent of his published research has involved an international co-authorship.
Congratulations to Plant Sciences students Saarah Kuzay and Abelina Jackson, who have been named 2020 Borlaug Graduate Scholars by the National Association of Plant Breeders (NAPB).
Diane Beckles, associate professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, has been named an inaugural recipient of the Chancellor’s Fellowship for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Awarded by UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May and the Academic Senate, the fellowship recognizes faculty with an “abiding commitment to reducing opportunity gaps for underrepresented students and/or students from underserved communities.”
Dr. Fredrick Bliss, professor emeritus in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis, was honored with the 2020 National Association of Plant Breeders (NAPB) Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes distinguished long-term service to the plant breeding discipline through research, education, outreach, and leadership. The award will be presented at the 2021 NAPB annual meeting next summer.
Research spearheaded by Loren Oki, Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis, evaluates landscape plants to determine the best low water-use plants for California. Creating water budgets is required by California’s Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance. A new grant from CDFA/USDA expands this project to other western states to minimize water use.
Professor Jorge Dubcovsky and postdoc Joshua Hegarty, Plant Sciences, received a STAIR Grant to advance innovative solutions with commercial potential. They are working on breeding Triticale, a wheat and rye hybrid, which is being improved and tested for its baking quality.
Three faculty in the Department of Plant Sciences — Bruce Linquist, Jeff Mitchell, and Ken Tate — are among the 16 UC Davis recipients of Academic Federation and Academic Senate awards for 2020. Bruce Linquist: Excellence in Research. Jeff Mitchell: Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. Ken Tate: Distinguished Service.
A new Plant Physiology paper, authored by UC Davis plant scientists Ella Katz, Dan Kliebenstein, and undergrads Alycia Rasmussen and Aleshia Hooper, was featured as ‘Plant Physiology Article of the Week’ in The Signal, a weekly publication of the American Society of Plant Biologists.