College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, UC Davis

06/04/2026

It’s easy to scan a restaurant menu and pick the most tempting dish 🍽️ A new study by UC Davis researchers found diners ordered less added sugar when menus included warning icons. https://caes.ucdavis.edu/news/warning-labels-restaurant-menus-steer-diners-sweets-uc-davis-research-suggests
image description: white sugar shaped into an exclamation point on a wooden table with a silver spoon

As California lawmakers consider legislation that would require “high sugar” warning labels on restaurant menus, a University of California, Davis, study shows that the labels are effective in dissuading diners from ordering sugary items.

06/01/2026

Congratulations to our 2026 Lang Prize winners! These six amazing undergraduate Aggies are being recognized for their accomplished research using library resources:

Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

🌿 Alyssa Linehan, 1st Place, Racial Disparities in Pain Management

🌿 Sofia Wright, 2nd Place, Disrupting Carceral Logics in Schools

🌿 Rianna Herrera, 3rd Place, A Qualitative Analysis of Filipinx Americans’ Aspirations for Higher Education and Mobility

Science, Engineering & Mathematics

🌿 Angelina Ong, 1st Place, Preventing the Resurgence of Drug-Resistant Malaria

🌿 Camila Cancino, 2nd Place, Cuban Dogfish Wikifish

🌿 Ruth Selvaraj, 3rd Place, Effectiveness and Ethical Concerns of AI Chatbots

Learn about our winners and their projects: https://bit.ly/4e5u9dn
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Launched in 2017, the Norma J. Lang Prize for Undergraduate Information Research is funded by a bequest from the late UC Davis Professor Emerita of Botany, Norma J. Lang.

📷️ : Maya Lee
L-R: Rianna Herrera, Sofia Wright, Alyssa Linehan, Angelina Ong and Camila Cancino. Not pictured: Ruth Selvaraj.

Image description:
Five undergraduates pose together holding their Lang Prize certificates. A green poster with a black-and-white photo of Norma J. Lang is in the center between them. The UC Davis Library logo is visible on the tablecloth behind them.

05/29/2026

Don’t head into the weekend without catching up on the latest CA&ES news, updates and activities! Check out the latest edition of our Highlights newsletter and see how researchers are helping wildfire-devastated Southern California communities understand tree loss, recovery and rebuilding efforts, plus what barn owls hear over CA vineyards and the exciting grand opening of our state-of-the-art Resnick Center for Agricultural Innovation! https://mailchi.mp/caes.ucdavis.edu/may-highlights2026

05/28/2026

Here are a few behind the scenes photos from the Chancellor’s recent tractor joyride video!

Thanks to all the faculty, staff and students from the ABT 49: Field Equipment Operation class and our farm workers for taking time to host our campus leadership and provide a safe environment! This class has a historical and longstanding reputation for training our students in hands-on skills with a variety of tractors and field equipment while gaining a foundational knowledge in ag mechanics and cropping practices.

We celebrate their dedication to the learning environment, agriculture and UC Davis. Thank you!

Image Descriptions:
1. Dean Ashley Stokes side hugs LeShelle May while talking with Chancellor Gary May outside the Western Center for Agricultural Equipment.

2. A group of faculty, students and staff join Chancellor Gary May, Dean Ashley M. Stokes and LeShelle May for a photo in front of a John Deere tractor.

3. Chancellor Gary May takes a photo with UC Davis farm crew in the fields outside the Western Center for Agricultural Equipment.

4.Dean Ashley M. Stokes takes a photo with students on a John Deere tractor in the field outside the Western Center for Agricultural Equipment.

05/28/2026

Check out Associate Dean of Human and Social Sciences Amanda Guyer on Face to Face with Chancellor May this month!

She shares how a middle school experiment involving Hawaiian Punch sparked her curiosity – and ultimately set her on a path toward studying how children and adolescents develop. Today, her research explores how brain development influences the way children and adolescents respond to social and emotional challenges, including social media.
https://bit.ly/4u6uAsR

Amanda Guyer, professor in the Department of Human Ecology and a faculty researcher at the Center for Mind and Brain, is helping uncover how brain development influences the way children and adolescents respond to social and emotional challenges. She is this month’s guest on Face to Face With Chan...

05/27/2026

A round of applause to the advisors recognized at this year’s Walker Advising Awards. Congratulations to Lacole Brooks, staff advisor; Johan Leveau, professor; and Ingrid Hoffert, environmental science and management major and peer advisor.

05/27/2026

🎉 🎉 CA&ES is excited to celebrate two outstanding Aggies! 💛 💙

Congrats to two of our graduate students: Gayatri Ganesh, who is earning a master’s degree with the Graduate Program of Environmental Policy and Management, for being this year’s recipient of the Neal Van Alfen and James MacDonald Graduate Student Award; and Ellie Bolas, who completed her Ph.D. in ecology this spring, for being this year’s recipient of the Kinsella Memorial Prize!

https://bit.ly/4o1dYS0

The UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, or CA&ES, is celebrating two outstanding graduate students recognized for their research, leadership and service in advancing regenerative agriculture, wildlife ecology and conservation and environmental sustainability.

05/27/2026

The organic farming industry in California is growing and students in the UC Davis SCOPE program get their hands dirty growing tomatoes, wheat varieties, zinnias and other crops. They learn to breed plants that use less water, resist insects and flourish in hot temperatures. Graduates then hit the job market with valuable knowledge, an instinct for innovation and leaderships skills.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has funded this program that supports California’s $11.1 billion organic farming industry.

…education with endless possibilities
https://bit.ly/3Rs7e38

05/26/2026

After the Altadena and Pacific Palisades fires, trees were sometimes all that people had left on their properties where houses once stood. The community fought hard to protect those remaining symbols of the culture and heritage of the area.

and partners are working to understand tree casualty and recovery so that the community can rebuild, replace what was lost and plan for the future.

Learn more in this story, podcast and video package.

https://caes.ucdavis.edu/news/altadena

Image description: Aerial view of trees, grass and land where houses once stood with a hill in the background
Image description: Two men holding research equipment measure a tree that was burned during a fire
Image description: A man standing in the back of a pick-up truck with a research instrument with a blue sky background

05/22/2026

American barn owls are already helping California growers control rodents naturally by hunting after dark. Now a research team is studying whether nighttime sounds, including tractor noise, influence where the nocturnal birds hunt.

Researchers will track the owl’s movements with a small GPS device that the bird wears like a backpack. They’re also conducting audio playback experiments to learn how to best support barn owls as natural pest control.

Learn more: https://caes.ucdavis.edu/news/what-barn-owls-hear-over-california-vineyards

Image description: Barn owl with heart-shaped white face perched on a hand of a person in orange jacket.

After the sun sets and darkness falls over the vineyards near Lodi, American barn owls start to glide above the grapevines in search of rodents below. As the birds hunt, researchers at the University of California, Davis, and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, and San Luis Obispo, ar...