UC Davis Honors and Awards

Faculty, Graduate Students, and Postdocs Honored by Graduate Studies

  • by Elizabeth Lambert

On May 23, UC Davis Graduate Studies continued the tradition of recognizing  some of the most exemplary teaching, research and mentoring taking place within the UC Davis graduate education community at the 2018 Graduate Studies Honors and Awards Ceremony in the ARC Ballroom.

Honorees and their family, friends, and colleagues gathered to celebrate some of  this year's most notable academic accomplishments from faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars alike. 

Dissertation Awards

John Kinsella Award

The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES) has established the Kinsella Memorial Prize in honor of late Dean and Professor John Kinsella.  The annual award of $3,500 will be given to an outstanding individual based on the quality and originality of the work, the multidisciplinary impact of the research and, the importance of the research to the college’s mission to serve agriculture, the environment, and human health and development.

Awarded to Xiaochen "Ellie" Yin, Food Science
Major Professor: Maria Marco, Department of Food Science and Technology ​
Dissertation Title: “Environmental factors affecting the ecological fitness of Lactobacillus in mammalian digestive tracts”

Max Kleiber Prize

This prize was established to honor the sixty year career of Professor Max Kleiber in recognition of his outstanding success in elucidating metabolic relationships in intact animals. The award is made to a nominee who best represents the characteristics and high standards of scholastics and professional ethics that guided Professor Kleiber’s career. 

Awarded to Karan Agrawal, Pharmacology and Toxicology with a Designated Emphasis in Biotechnology
Major Professor: John W. Newman
Dissertation Title: “Sweat Lipid Mediator Profiling: A non-invasive approach for cutaneous research”

Loren D. Carlson Prize in Physiology

​The Loren D. Carlson Prize in Physiology is awarded the student who best demonstrates "scholarly achievement and promise for teaching and research.”  The recipient of the Carlson Prize receives an award of $3,000, a certificate commemorating the Prize, and their name will be inscribed on the Carlson Prize plaque in the Carlson Library.

Awarded to Hannah Ledford, Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Major Professor: Nipavan Chiamvimonvat
Dissertation Title: “Regulation of Cardiac Potassium Channels in Health and Disease”

Zuhair A. Munir Award for Best Doctoral Dissertation in Engineering

The Zuhair A. Munir Award for the Best Doctoral Dissertation honors former Dean of the College of Engineering, Zuhair A. Munir.   Munir led the College from 2000 to 2002 and acted as its Associate Dean for Graduate Studies for 20 years. This Award will not only honors the individual who submitted the best doctoral dissertation within the College of Engineering during the eligibility period and publicize their outstanding research, but also acknowledges the mentorship of the major professor. The award consists of a plaque and honorarium of $1000 for the student, and a plaque for the major professor.

Awarded to Diana Gamzina, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Major Professor: Bahram Ravani
Dissertation Title: “Multiscale Thermo-mechanical design and analysis of high frequency and high power vacuum electron devices”

Allen G. Marr Prize

The Allen G. Marr Prize was established in honor of Allen G. (Jerry) Marr's 20 year contribution as Dean of Graduate Studies and Research and his commitment to the highest standards of scholarship and professional ethics. A $1,500 prize is awarded by Graduate Studies to a doctoral student in honor of superior dissertation work. Each year the competition is in different discipline areas. The fields of competition for the 2018 award were Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Engineering and Social Sciences.

Awarded to Christopher Colla, Geology
Major Professor: William H. Casey
Dissertation Title: “Oxide Minerals to Aqueous Oxide Clusters, Insights for Geochemistry from NMR and DFT”

Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Awards

The Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award (OGTA) recognizes the contributions of graduate students to teaching and learning at UC Davis. This is a tremendously important award as it honors outstanding graduate students, reminds the campus that teaching is a central part of the university’s mission, and can inspire students and professors to give increased attention to the educational process.

Mentoring Awards

Distinguished Graduate and Distinguished Postdoctoral Scholar Mentoring Award

Graduate Studies and the Graduate Council are pleased to present awards for outstanding mentoring of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. The Distinguished Mentoring Awards recognize the vital role mentoring plays in the academic and professional development of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars at UC Davis.  A certificate and $1,000 will be conferred to each awardee.  

Mentoring at Critical Transitions (MCT) Wakeham Fellowship

The Mentoring at Critical Transitions Wakeham Fellowship recognizes up to five exceptional faculty-graduate student mentorship projects annually. The fellowship provides support for faculty mentors and their graduate student mentees.

Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards

The postdoctoral fellowship awards honor the research and accomplishments of postdoctoral scholars at UC Davis. These fellows provide an outstanding pool of potential new faculty members in a wide range of disciplines. 

President’s:

Chancellor’s

Excellence

Professors for the Future

Professors for the Future (PFTF) is a year-long competitive fellowship program designed to recognize and develop the leadership skills of outstanding graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who have demonstrated their commitment to professionalism, integrity, and academic service. 

2017-2018 Fellows

2018-2019 Fellows

About Graduate Studies

Graduate Studies at UC Davis includes 99 dynamic degree programs and a diverse and interactive student body from around the world. Known for our state-of-the-art research facilities, productive laboratories and progressive spirit – UC Davis offers collaborative and interdisciplinary curricula through graduate groups and designated emphasis options, bringing students and faculty of different academic disciplines together to address real-world challenges.

UC Davis graduate students and postdoctoral scholars become leaders in their fields: researchers, teachers, politicians, mentors and entrepreneurs. They go on to guide, define and impact change within our global community.

For information on Graduate Studies’ current strategic initiatives, visit the Graduate Studies strategic plan page.

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