This column offers a sampling of honors recently awarded to UC Davis faculty, staff and units:

Bruce Gates, a distinguished professor of chemical engineering and materials science, has been awarded the 2009 Robert Burwell Lectureship in Catalysis from the North American Catalysis Society. The award is accompanied by an honorarium and financial support for Gates to visit any of the society’s 14 clubs throughout the world. The society cited Gates for his 40 years of significant contributions in three major areas of catalysis research, and commended him for mentoring over 130 students, postdocs and visiting scientists, as well as for educating “two generations of catalytic scientists and industrial practitioners.”

Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef was recently named a fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists. The award is granted to members for their “direct service to the society and distinguished and long-term contributions to plant biology.” Vanderhoef will receive the award at the society’s annual ceremony in Honolulu on July 18.

A cover story on in the March 2009 issue of National Jurist magazine praises the UC Davis School of Law as having one of the most diverse faculties of any American law school. The article, “The Search for the Missing Voices,” interviews Dean Kevin R. Johnson on the law school’s diversity. UC Davis’ School of Law ranked 10th in the country and first among California law schools for faculty diversity in Princeton Review’s recent assessment of “Best Law Schools 2009,” and King Hall has more Asian American professors than any U.S. law school, the National Jurist article notes.

“Having role models on the law faculty from all different backgrounds better prepares students for the practice of law in an increasingly diverse society,” said Johnson.

Law professor Margaret Johns and the UC Davis School of Law were recognized for providing pro bono representation for appellants before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at a reception at the James R. Browning U.S. Courthouse in San Francisco on March 24. Since 1995, the Ninth Circuit pro bono program has provided representation for about 200 appellants each year. Johns, who acted as lawyer representative for the Eastern District of California, received a certificate from the court for her services. Also, the law school was recognized as one of three schools offering faculty-supervised programs in which third-year law students take pro bono cases, conducting research, writing briefs and arguing cases.

Law professor Donna Shestowsky was an invited speaker at the 11th Annual American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution Conference held in New York City April 15-18. She presented empirical research on litigants’ preferences regarding Alternative Dispute Resolution. Shestowsky teaches courses on criminal law, negotiation strategy, alternative dispute resolution and legal psychology.

Husein Ajwa, a Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, has been awarded a 2009 Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Ajwa, who works at the U.S. Department of Agriculture research facilities in Salinas, has conducted extensive research on iodomethane for the past eight years with other USDA and University of Florida researchers. MIDAS, a next-generation soil fumigant that arose from that research partnership, has been registered by the federal EPA for use in growing high-value crops such as strawberries, tomatoes, and peppers.

— Dateline staff