It wasn’t long ago that the college welcomed over 2,000 new first-year and transfer students. They joined me on the BioSci lawn to meet one another, their faculty and receive a warm welcome to the college and to UC Davis. Each year, the incoming first-year and transfer classes bring energy, enthusiasm and excitement to the college.

September also saw the culmination of this year’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program, whose scholars gathered to share their findings with peers, mentors and faculty. That program is supported entirely by generous donations to the college, which have helped create many of our student research awards.

I am also very proud to share the news that the Expect Greater fundraising campaign—the largest in our campus’s history—ended with a record-setting number of dollars raised. It is truly a testament to the impact of UC Davis, and the connection we have to our students, friends and alumni. To all those who supported the college, I send you a heartfelt thank you.

Our summer saw two monumental faculty accomplishments, too. Siobhan Brady, a professor of plant biology, was named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator—a highly prestigious honor that will see her lab receive almost $9 million in funding to support her work making plants more resilient to climate change. Venkatesan Sundaresan, a distinguished professor of plant biology, was among this year’s recipients of the Wolf Prize, which is considered by many to be the Nobel Prize of agriculture. My sincerest congratulations to both of them.

Finally, you may have seen the news that UC Davis received more than $1 billion in research grant funding. This marks the third consecutive year our campus has seen support for interdisciplinary and groundbreaking research total over a billion dollars. Another testament to the impact and excellence of our campus.

And now it’s October, and the quarter is in full swing. Students are back, the busses are running, and the bikes are out in force.

It’s a great time to be an Aggie.

______________



Mark Winey, Ph.D.

Dean, College of Biological Sciences

Distinguished Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology 

Featured image above: On Friday, September 20, the college welcomed over 2,000 new first-year and transfer students at its annual orientation event. Students met peers, faculty and grabbed college t-shirts.



Sundaresan, a plant reproduction biologist, received the prize for groundbreaking work that led to a method for producing clonal plant seeds that enables the perpetuation of high yielding crops.

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Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra and Marina Ellefson are the 2024 recipients of the CBS Faculty Research and Teaching Awards. They were recognized for their exceptional contributions to advancing education and scientific discovery.

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Miller's team is developing an assistive device enabling fluent, own-voice speech for individuals who have lost this ability, using innovative muscle recordings and facial video to synthesize personalized speech.

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Felipe Méndez-Salcido's fellowship provides two years of funding. This fellowship supports emerging Latin American scientists, helping advance their careers and scientific contributions.

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Marie Burns, a professor in the School of Medicine, was appointed interim director in July. She succeeds Kimberley McAllister, who is now the Vice Provost for Research at Wake Forest University.

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Five new faculty joined the Departments of Plant Biology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, and the Center for Neuroscience, adding breadth to the college’s research portfolio. 

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Tripp was recognized for her support of students from underserved and underrepresented backgrounds, and for her innovative, collaborative social-justice-centered curriculum. 

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Five faculty affiliated with CBS graduate groups were recognized by Graduate Studies for their mentorship and support of graduate students, and for enhancing the graduate student experience at UC Davis.  

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CBS surpassed its initial campaign goal of $75 million with 6,978 gifts from 3,565 donors totaling $84,752,641. Of those gifts, substantial support came from new donors to the college.

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The Summer Undergraduate Research Program empowers students to stay on campus and continue their research over the summer, offering invaluable support and opportunities to advance their projects without interruption.

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