The University of California, Davis, recently announced that philanthropists Lynda and Stewart Resnick, co-owners of The Wonderful Company, have pledged the largest gift ever to the university by individual donors. The $50 million pledge will support the school’s longstanding commitment to address today’s most pressing challenges in agriculture and environmental sustainability.
You may already be eating leafy greens that grow without soil, sunlight or ever being touched by human hands. Vertical farming has gained interest from growers and major investors around the world as a way to provide nourishing food, especially in urban areas. Gail Taylor, a vertical agriculture researcher and chair of the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, offered this perspective in an article recently published in The Guardian:
Pet a pine cone at Biodiversity Museum Day March 6
Visit a pine cone petting zoo and craft a pressed-flower bookmark during UC Davis’ 11th annual Biodiversity Museum Day. Children and the young-at-heart will enjoy hands-on activities that bring science to life from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, March 6, at the UC Davis Conference Center, across from the Robert Mondavi Center.
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.
Jennifer Schmidt, a Ph.D. candidate in Plant Sciences, is the 2020 recipient of the John E. Kinsella Memorial Prize for outstanding research on a doctoral dissertation. Her research focuses on the microbiome of the soil around plant roots — the rhizosphere — and its functional implications for sustainable agriculture.
Professors Cameron Carter, School of Medicine, and Li Tian, Department of Plant Sciences, are co-directors of the Cannabis and Hemp Research Center at UC Davis. The center will guide and support cannabis- and hemp-related research across UC Davis.
Ten UC Davis faculty members have been elected as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, including Dina St. Clair, a professor in the Department of Plant Sciences. She was elected in the Section on Agriculture, Food, and Renewable Resources for her work on plant breeding and genetics.
Eduardo Blumwald and Jorge Dubcovsky are among 16 UC Davis researchers who have been named in the annual Highly Cited Researchers 2019 list. The list identifies scientists and social scientists who have published multiple papers ranking in the top 1 percent by citations. Both are Distinguished Professors in the Department of Plant Sciences.
Dee Madderra, chief administrative officer in the Department of Plant Sciences, received a UC Davis "Disability Awareness Award" at Soaring to New Heights for her commitment so serving employee needs and accommodations
Charles E. “Charley” Hess, a UC Davis Medal recipient, dean emeritus of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and Plant Sciences professor emeritus, died April 13 at the age of 87.