June 18, 1999
Message from the Dean
To the faculty and staff of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences: It has been an honor to represent our college for the past six years. The year 1993 represented a time of extraordinary challenges to the college and campus. We didn't merely survive that period; we came through it with a clearer sense of who we are, committed to our mission and with a vision of our future. This development is exemplified by the Academic Plan that recently was submitted. Our strength has been in our ability to experiment, learn and evolve, both as an organization and as individual members of the college. Everywhere I have traveled and had the opportunity to interact with alumni and friends of the college, I have heard and seen demonstrations of the tremendous value our work has. As dean, I've constantly felt a strong sense of pride for our accomplishments that are evident throughout the state and scientific community. Thank you for the support and encouragement you have provided over these past six years - keep up the great work! Barbara O. Schneeman, Dean
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Commencement Award Winners
The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences awarded more than 1,700 B.S. degrees at its commencement ceremony on Saturday, June 19, 1999, in Recreation Hall. Five CA&ES students received special recognition: Rafael Yaquian of San Carlos will be presented the V. Glenn Winslow, Jr. Award as the university's most outstanding graduating man. The award recognizes service, leadership and scholarship. Yaquian, who will graduate with a B.S. in community and regional development, helped develop diversity workshops as an intern with the campus's Multicultural Immersion Program. He also participated in Hermanos Macehual, a service organization assisting the Chicano/Latino community, and Danzantes del Alma, a dance group promoting Mexican culture. Jessica Lundquist of Sacramento will be presented the College Medal for scholarship and extracurricular activities. She graduates with a B.S. in atmospheric science, achieving a 4.0 grade point average while serving as a student advisor, a student assistant in the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development and a volunteer at the Discovery Museum. Gwain Evans of Davis is the female recipient of the Charles Hess Community Service Award, presented by the college to recognize outstanding community and campus service. A mother of three and caregiver to her great aunt, she was a member of several college committees and served as a court-appointed special advocate with the Yolo County Juvenile Court. Evans graduates with a B.S. in nutrition. Chris Clark of Menlo Park, graduating with a degree in physics as well as environmental and resource sciences, is the male recipient of the Charles Hess Community Service Award. He has been a research assistant at the Space Lab at the University of Michigan and the High Energy Lab at Stanford University and worked with farmers in Costa Rica during field studies in tropical biology and sustainable development. Larisa Sandler of San Francisco receives the Mary Regan Meyer Prize, awarded to a student who demonstrates exceptional motivation. She served as a volunteer at two hospitals, a nursing home, a medical clinic and a facility for troubled boys while maintaining a 3.85 grade point average. Sandler graduates with a B.S. in genetics.
Shirley Jordan
Commencement Coordinator
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
jordan@agdean.ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-6972
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Barbara Schneeman Will Spend Next Year at USDA
Barbara Schneeman completes her term as dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences on June 30, 1999, and will spend the next year at U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D.C. Schneeman will serve as assistant administrator for Human Nutrition and be responsible for coordinating national human nutrition policy within USDA. She also will be responsible for activities in the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) related to inter- and intra-departmental nutrition committees, such as Dietary Guidelines for Americans. She will be located at USDA-ARS in the Jamie Whitten Building in Washington, D.C. Following her one-year leave from UC, Schneeman will return to her faculty position in the Departments of Nutrition and Food Science & Technology.
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Thomas Famula Honored for Outstanding Teaching
Professor Thomas Famula, Department of Animal Science, has been recognized by colleagues for his outstanding teaching ability. The Distinguished Teaching Award, presented by the campus division of the Academic Senate, is given annually in the spring quarter to as many as four faculty members. This year, Famula and faculty members in engineering, law and history were recognized. Famula is an authority on mathematical genetics models, particularly as they apply to animal growth and lactation. A UC Davis faculty member for 18 years, he teaches three undergraduate courses and team-teaches one graduate course each year. Students consistently give him high marks for his teaching. On a scale of 1-to-5, Famula received an average ranking of 4.9 during the past several years from students representing a broad range of majors and grade levels. According to students, he presents difficult concepts in a manner that easily can be understood. "Quantitative genetics is a subject that could be drier and rougher than sandpaper," say his students, but Famula has the ability to bring even that subject to life.
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Miguel Marino Elected to ASCE
Professor Miguel Marino, Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, recently was elected an honorary member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is recognized for mastery of surface and subsurface hydrologic processes and his methodologies to plan, design and manage water resources engineering projects.
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Howard Schutz Receives Peryam Award
Professor Emeritus Howard Schutz, Department of Food Science & Technology, received the David R. Peryam Award from the American Society for Testing and Materials. The award recognizes Schutz as an outstanding professional in the applied-sensory-science field.
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Judy Hendrickson Named Outstanding Staff Advisor
Judy Hendrickson, academic staff advisor, Department of Viticulture & Enology, is recipient of the 1999 Walker Award for Outstanding Staff Advisor. The award is presented in recognition of a college staff member who has provided outstanding and exceptional service to students. This is the tenth year the award has been presented. James Wolpert, chair of the Department of Viticulture & Enology, praised Hendrickson for her contribution. "Judy gives us the freedom to focus on other projects, because we know that her area is being handled," he said. "She works very well with the students and is sensitive to their challenges and struggles. She is a real asset of us all." Students rate advisors on knowledge of requirements, campus resources and graduate and career opportunities, as well as the advisor's approachability, availability and helpful attitude. The award was named in honor of Harry Walker, Department of Land, Air & Water Resources professor emeritus. During his many years at UC Davis, he was an outstanding advisor and friend to hundreds of students. Walker also was a strong supporter of the college's network of departmental and Dean's Office staff advisors. Hendrickson advises students in the fermentation science and viticulture and enology majors. Raised in Woodland and a graduate of Woodland High School, she began her career at UC Davis as a telephone operator. She worked at the medical school and in the geology department before joining the Department of Viticulture & Enology.
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Ian Garnett Receives Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award
Director and Senior Lecturer Ian Garnett, Department of Animal Science, is one of four faculty members to receive the 1999 Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award. Each year, one recipient is chosen from each of the three colleges and one from the Division of Biological Sciences. Recipients are selected by a committee of academic peer advisors, which reviews nominations submitted by undergraduate students. "I was surprised," said Garnett, referring to the award. "This is especially gratifying because it is initiated by the students. In animal science, a lot of emphasis is put on working with undergraduate students. I'm a product of that animal science culture!" Advising Services coordinates the process and presentation ceremony; Associated Students of UC Davis and the campus Teaching Resources Center support the effort. The awards have been presented for 17 years.
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Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture
The Aquaculture and Fisheries Program (AFP) has reorganized to become the Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture (CABA). The center's Executive Committee and faculty believe that the name change more appropriately reflects the future direction of the center as defined in its mission statement. The mission of the center is "to provide leadership in addressing problems of cultured and wild aquatic organisms, with an emphasis on California." Gary Moberg, the center's new director, sees CABA as playing an active role in addressing issues related to the conservation of the state's aquatic resources. "The faculty is recognized for their contributions to fundamental aquatic biology," he said. "Now is the time to aggressively apply these fundamentals to solving problems related to the conservation of native species and environmental issues related to the culture of aquatic organisms."
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"Touch of Blue" Exhibition
Five knitted works titled "Touch of Blue" by Malgorzata Wyszogrodzka-Trzcinka, associate professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz, Poland, are on exhibit through Wednesday, June 23, 1999, in Walker Hall. Wyszogrodzka-Trzcinka has been visiting the Design Program during spring quarter, participating in classes and conducting research. Her delicately knitted pieces, such as "Blue Moths" and "Transitions," are constructed of cotton and metal fiber. The exhibition is free and open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Rhonda R. O'Brien
Program Representative
Department of Environmental Design
rrobrien@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-6223
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Wanted: Ag-related Photos
Doane Agricultural Services, the publisher of Crop Decisions, Ag Retailer and Agri Marketing magazines, is looking for ag-related photographs for use in its magazines. Photographs may be used with articles or as magazine covers.
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International Ecosystem Congress
The International Congress on Ecosystem Health will be held August 15-20, 1999, in Sacramento. It is hosted by UC Davis. Field trips to regional sites are offered as well as more than 120 presentations in technical sessions addressing science, technology, policy, culture and economics in relation to the quality and health of the environment. Main speakers include Kenneth Olden, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Robert Watson, director for environment at the World Bank; Ambassador Ola Ullsten of Sweden; Douglas Wheeler, former secretary of resources for California; and New York Newsday's science writer Laurie Garrett, author of "The Coming Plague." Many sessions will focus on California problems such as exotic species, coastal conservation and forest management. Field trips will be offered to the San Francisco Bay, Lake Tahoe, Monterey Bay, Clear Lake, the Napa and Sonoma wine regions, sustainable agriculture operations and nearby wetlands.
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American Coal Ash Association Educational Foundation
The American Coal Ash Educational Foundation is offering scholarships to students demonstrating interest in the theme "Coal the Combustion Products (CCPs): Innovative Products for the New Millennium." The scholarships are available to undergraduates enrolled in degree programs in agriculture, architecture, business administration, communications, engineering, environmental science, mining and related programs. A number of scholarships will be awarded in each of two categories, Research-Paper Scholarship and Semester-Project Scholarship. Research-Paper Scholarship: Scholarships in the amount of $700 will be awarded for research papers developing the general theme with relevance to the field of study being pursued by the applicant. Semester-Project Scholarship: Scholarships in the amount of $2,500 will be awarded for a one- to three-credit semester project designed in collaboration with a faculty advisor. Special Awards: The ACAA Educational Foundation will select outstanding examples of research papers and semester projects completed during the fall 1999 - spring 2000 scholarship cycle. Those selected will be invited to publish and present their topics at the Fourteenth International Symposium on Management and Use of Coal Combustion Products in Orlando, Florida, in January 2001.
Information availableonline
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Alliance for Environmental Stewardship
The Alliance for Environmental Stewardship workshop will be held September 27-29, 1999, in St. Louis. Participants will include public- and private-sector individuals involved in the practical application, public policy and management of nutrients or those interested in environmental protection through comprehensive policies and programs. Participants will discuss current and potential mechanisms of cooperation and partnership that may be used to demonstrate a collective commitment to enhance innovative and mutually beneficial resolution of environmental pollution and promote comprehensive nutrient evaluation and utilization in all watersheds. Proceedings include discussion and workshop presentations, poster presentations and all prioritized recommendations.
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Citrus Research Board
Proposals for new and ongoing projects in the interest of the California citrus industry now are being accepted. The Citrus Research Board Strategic Plan for 1999-2000 gives 12 subjects as areas for action. Each area is considered by the Citrus Research Board to be a high priority for the industry. The board seeks submissions on a broad range of issues impacting the California citrus industry. Deadline: July 23, 1999
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CA&ES Currents, the faculty/staff newsletter of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis, is distributed every other Friday. News deadline is noon Monday preceding Friday publication. Send inquiries to Ann Filmer, afilmer@ucdavis.edu
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Contributors: Donna Gutierrez, Thomas Kaiser, Susan Kancir, Rhoda McKnight, Neal Van Alfen, John Weston.
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