Students

Annual Student Rally Connects Students to Local Research and Industry

The UC Davis student branch of the ASABE hosted the organization’s Annual Student Rally for California and Nevada in January, where students learned about today’s agricultural industry, from producing high-protein almond milk to gene editing for essential crops to heritage sheep breeding.

Kelping It Green: UC Davis Research Team Wins Awards at First-Ever AlgaePrize Competition

Biological systems engineering graduate student Mia Gaiero teamed up with food science and technology graduate student Truc Pham to dive deep into algae for the inaugural AlgaePrize Competition, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office. The two earned a place among the top finalists, as well as $10,000 and the best poster award at an awards ceremony in April.   

Engineering Students Dominate Big Bang! Business Competition with Innovative Technologies

University of California, Davis, College of Engineering students were big winners at the 23rd annual Big Bang! Business Competition on May 23, taking home $64,000 in prizes with their innovations in food and agriculture, education, energy and sustainability, health and social enterprise.  

Innovating for our future

Coffee roasting is a crucial step in manufacturing and selling coffee. However, the exact chemical and kinetic changes that occur to coffee beans during the process are still relatively unclear.

BAE Seniors Innovate to Solve Real-World Problems

The three-quarter Capstone course at UC Davis gives biological systems engineering students the skills and experiences they need to become leaders in engineering design. This year’s teams worked on projects ranging from remote sensing to aquaponic indoor plant growth to alginate encapsulation of caviar. Two exceptional teams are highlighted.

Alice Dien Hits it Out of the Park, Advances to UC Grad Slam Finals with Revolutionary Drying Research

Biological Systems Engineering Ph.D. student Alice Dien won first place at UC Davis Grad Slam on April 6. Her winning research presentation “Cooling Down with the New Hot Air: The Future of Drying in Agriculture” earned her a $2,500 prize, and she will be competing for the top prize at the University of California Grad Slam Finals against winners from the other nine UC campuses on Friday, May 6.

A Dry Idea to Save Energy and Preserve Food

Have you ever stopped to think about how much energy it takes to dry the coffee beans in your coffee? Or the corn in the tortilla chip you’re crunching? Or the rice in your sushi roll? Probably not — you might lose your appetite. Biological Systems Engineering Ph.D. student Alice Dien has thought about it a lot and come up with an intriguing solution: Desiccation.