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Maury Salz and David Slaughter with award

Professor David Slaughter Receives Prestigious Cyrus Hall McCormick-Jerome Increase Case Gold Medal

Posted by Benjamin Bradford Dally on July 10, 2019
Since 1932, the American Society of Biological and Agricultural Engineers (ASABE) has selected one recipient, if any, for the Cyrus Hall McCormick-Jerome Increase Case Gold Medal. The medal is awarded to those who show "exceptional and meritorious achievement in agriculture that has resulted in new concepts, products, processes or methods that advanced the development of agriculture.” This year's medal has been awarded to Biological and Agricultural Engineering Professor David Slaughter.
Awards and Competitions
uc davis biological agricultural engineering graduate student vivian vuong phenotyping

Precision Agriculture: Genetic Research Aids in Food Production

Posted by Noah Pflueger-Peters on September 03, 2020
Vivian Vuong’s ’17, Ph.D. ’21, drive to study agricultural engineering stemmed from her undergraduate research with Biological and Agricultural Engineering Professor and Smart Farm Big Idea Champion David Slaughter. Today she’s working on gathering genetic data on plants to increase yield in the field – a method that can improve food access and the environment.
Agriculture
uc davis biological agricultural engineering ift graduate student food poster competition

UC Davis sweeps 2020 IFT food engineering poster competition

Posted by Noah Pflueger-Peters on August 27, 2020

UC Davis graduate students made their presence known at this year’s Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Food Engineering Division graduate student poster competition, taking home all three top spots.

Student
uc davis biological agricultural engineering ai food systems nsf institute nitin mason earles

UC Davis to Lead New Artificial Intelligence Institute for Next-Generation Food Systems

Posted by Noah Pflueger-Peters on August 26, 2020

The University of California, Davis, has been awarded $20 million as part of a multi-institutional collaboration to establish an institute focused on enabling the next-generation food system through the integration of artificial intelligence, or AI, technologies. The award is part of a larger investment announced today (Aug. 26) by the National Science Foundation, or NSF, in partnership with several federal agencies — distributing a total of $140 million to fund seven complementary AI research institutes across the nation.

Food
uc davis biological agricultural engineering startup larva organic waste biomilitus

UC Davis startup uses larva to feed animals, reduce waste

Posted by Noah Pflueger-Peters on August 21, 2020

A new startup out of the UC Davis biological and agricultural engineering (BAE) department has developed an award-winning system that uses insect larvae to produce animal feed with less land and a smaller carbon footprint. Fresh off success in UC Berkeley’s 2020 Big Ideas competition and UC Davis’ 2019 Big Bang! Business Competition, BioMilitus is poised to use their lab-based research to make the planet more sustainable.

Food
uc davis biological agricultural engineering irrigation association excellence education isaya kisekka

Isaya Kisekka receives Excellence in Education Award from the Irrigation Association

Posted by Noah Pflueger-Peters on July 21, 2020

Associate professor Isaya Kisekka has received the 2020 Irrigation Association (IA) Excellence in Education Award. The annual award recognizes outstanding educators in irrigation, water management and water conservation. Kisekka was cited for being “instrumental in reviving the irrigation curriculum at UC Davis” by co-developing three new irrigation courses and helping create the Irrigation and Water Management minor.

Faculty
uc davis biological agricultural engineering harvest robots stavros vougioukas

Solving agricultural challenges with engineering and robotics

July 15, 2020
From creating fragile crop harvest-aiding mobile robots (FRAIL-bots) for strawberry harvesting to developing an automated robotic orchard platform designed to optimize fruit pickers’ performance, Stavros Vougioukas is addressing agricultural challenges and making an impact on California agriculture.
Faculty
uc davis biological agricultural engineering senior design projects

BAE senior design projects showcase innovation in sustainability

Posted by Noah Pflueger-Peters on June 05, 2020

Ten teams of biological systems engineering seniors presented their senior design projects to the public in this year’s Engineering Design Showcase. Design Showcase is a capstone of the College of Engineering undergraduate experience and the culmination of three quarters of hard work on senior design projects, where they present the designs they built in teams for real-world clients.

Student
uc davis biological agricultural engineering remote instruction

Engineering creative solutions for teaching remotely

Posted by Noah Pflueger-Peters on June 02, 2020

When Yolo County issued a shelter-in-place order on March 18, the College of Engineering’s graduate student teaching assistants (TAs) and faculty members had less than two weeks to transition their spring classes online. While spring 2020 will be remembered as anything but a normal quarter, innovation in teaching and community among students and TAs have helped keep the college running and make the best of the situation.

Student
uc davis biological agricultural engineering smart farm mason earles

Bringing Big Data to the Vineyard

May 27, 2020
Mason Earles, assistant professor in the Department of Viticulture and Enology and the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, is applying big data by merging agricultural and machine learning to glean information that improves vineyards’ health and yields.
Faculty
uc davis biological agricultural engineering jeopardy anaerobic digester

Anaerobic digester featured on Jeopardy!

Posted by Noah Pflueger-Peters on April 13, 2020

UC Davis and the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAE) were featured on a question from the April 6 episode of Jeopardy’s College Championship. A $600 question under the “E-College-y” category read, “UC Davis converts 50 tons of organic waste into energy daily with a system called an A.D., this non-oxygen type of ‘digester.’”

Faculty
uc davis biological agricultural engineering ift fellow zhongli pan

Zhongli Pan named Institute of Food Technologies fellow

Posted by Noah Pflueger-Peters on March 16, 2020

Adjunct professor Zhongli Pan has been named a fellow of the Institute of Food Technologies (IFT). IFT fellows are recognized by their peers for “exemplary professionalism in the field of food science,” including scholarship, service, leadership or innovation that helps improve humanity through food science and technology.

Faculty