MORE LAURELS

English professor Yiyun Li (whose works include The Vagrants and Kinder Than Solitude) is the recipient of the Benjamin H. Danks Award, given by the American Academy of Arts and Letters to an exceptional young writer; and history professor Ari Kelman (and associate vice provost of Undergraduate Education) wins Columbia University’s Bancroft Prize for A Misplaced Massacre: Struggling Over the Memory of Sand Creek. Read more.

Enrique Lavernia, dean of the College of Engineering, is a new fellow of The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, or TMS, recognizing his outstanding contributions to the development of novel metal processing techniques, and leadership in academic administration.

A fellowship is the society’s pinnacle honor and includes lifetime membership.

Lavernia joined UC Davis as dean of engineering in 2002. He served for nearly two years as provost and executive vice chancellor, 2009-11, then returned to his dean’s post.

His research interests are in the synthesis of structural materials and metal matrix composites. He has published more than 400 journal and 200 conference publications on topics ranging from nanomaterials to aluminum alloys.

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The National Society of Film Critics recently presented a Film Heritage Award to English professor Scott Simmon, film scholar and curator, for his latest anthology on DVD, “American Treasures from the New Zealand Film Archive.”

Simmon studies U.S. films, and the films in the New Zealand anthology are indeed U.S. films, drawn from an extraordinary cache of nitrate prints that had been safeguarded in the island nation and unseen in decades.

Simmon previously curated four DVD-and-text anthologies for the National Film Preservation Foundation, on such diverse themes as “The West” and social issues in American film.

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The Society for Range Management recently presented the W.R. Chapline Stewardship Award to Melvin George, Cooperative Extension specialist emeritus, affiliated with the Department of Plant Sciences.

The award recognizes his work in significantly improving extension education programs and science-based technical advice to ranchers, public agencies and industry associations during his 37-year career.

He was noted for establishing education and outreach programs that evaluated scientific information relevant to targeted problems, contributed new scientific knowledge to environmental issues, extended information to engage the ranching constituency in problem solving, and supplied the tools and knowledge to implement solutions to environmental problems. 

During his career, George developed and implemented a water quality research and education short course for rangeland owners — helping more than 1,000 ranchers develop and implement water quality plans on privately owned rangeland. State and federal agencies adopted the process as a model for voluntary clean water programs. This approach improved grazing management, protected water quality, and led to enhanced stewardship on expansive public and private rangelands and watersheds in the western United States.

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Chemistry professors know the formula for success:

• David Britt is the recipient of the International EPR (ESR) Society’s highest award, the Gold Medal. Established in 1989, the society aims to stimulate scientific development of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), also known as electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy, a technique for studying chemical reactions. Britt's UC Davis laboratory houses the California Electron Paramagnetic Resonance center (CalEPR), the largest center of its kind on the West Coast. 

• Gerd LaMar, professor emeritus, has been named the recipient of the Eraldo Antonini Lifetime Achievement Award, by the Society on Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines. The award will be presented at the biannual International Conference on Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines in Istanbul in June.

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Fire Marshal Morgana Yahnke recently received the Charles H. Gray Memorial Award, given by the California Fire Prevention Officers Section of the California Fire Chiefs Association.

This award recognizes a fire prevention officer who has exemplified the goals of promoting, recognizing and fostering dedicated service in the field of fire prevention.

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Honors for weed and pest scientists:

• Robert Norris, professor emeritus of plant sciences, has been named a fellow of the Western Society of Weed Science. He joined the UC Davis faculty in 1967 and was one of the founding members of the UC Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, program. He is a leading proponent of the zero tolerance philosophy of weed management, with research often focused on soil seed banks and their impacts. In 2003, Norris was the lead author of an IPM textbook that is used for undergraduate teaching in the United States.

• Two societies recently recognized the work of Brad Hanson, Cooperative Extension specialist, Department of Plant Sciences. The Weed Science Society of America named him “outstanding early career weed scientist” and the California Weed Science Society gave him its Award of Excellence, for being at the forefront of many new discoveries within weed science and for research in herbicide resistance management.

• The Association of Applied IPM Ecologists recently presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to Doug Gubler, Cooperative Extension specialist, Department of Plant Pathology, in recognition of his contributions to integrated pest management and applied ecology in grapevine disease research. Gubler’s work in disease epidemiology and pathogen biology over the past 30 years has led to fewer fungicide applications used in California vineyards.

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The American Society for Nutrition is serving up honors to two UC Davis professors:

• Kathryn Dewey, selected to receive the E.V. McCollum International Lectureship in Nutrition Award. Dewey’s research focuses on community and international nutrition, with an emphasis on maternal and child nutrition. She is the director of the International Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements Project, a collaboration devoted to preventing malnutrition in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Malawi.

• Carl Keen, selected to receive the 2014 McCormick Science Institute Research Award, in recognition of his research contributions that have advanced the understanding of the potential health benefits of culinary herbs and spices. His research program has included studies of the influence of diet on age-related chronic disease, especially vascular disease. He and his laboratory colleagues are particularly interested in potential benefits for cardiovascular health of diets that are rich in plant foods.

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UC Davis’ WorkLife Seal of Distinction for 2014 came with additional honors, for top ratings in the categories of health and wellness, and medium-sized companies.

The seal, given by the Alliance for Work-Life Progress, recognizes “organizational success in work-life effectiveness.” UC Davis has received the seal two consecutive years.

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UC Davis has earned designation as a Tree Campus USA for the sixth year in a row — that’s every year since the Arbor Day Foundation began the program, honoring colleges and universities and their leaders for promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation.

To be a Tree Campus USA, UC Davis meets five core standards for sustainable campus forestry: establishment of a tree advisory committee, evidence of a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance, and the sponsorship of student service-learning projects.

“Your diligence in improving the environment and quality of life … contributes to a healthier planet for all of us,” the foundation’s chief executive, John Rosenow, wrote in a letter to Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi.

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Forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey is the new president-elect of the North American Forensic Entomology Association.

Kimsey is an assistant adjunct professor in the Department of Entomology and Nematology and adviser to the UC Davis Entomology Club. He also serves as the master adviser for the animal biology major program, which includes some 400 students.

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The Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America announced that it will present awards next week to three UC Davis professors, James R. Carey, Lynn Kimsey and Diane Ullman, and a postdoc, Kelly Hamby.

The awards are due to be given during the society’s annual meeting, being held this year in Tucson, Ariz.

• James R. Carey — C.W. Woodworth Award, for outstanding accomplishments in entomology spanning four decades.  

• Lynn Kimsey — Systematics, Evolution and Biodiversity Award. Kimsey is the director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology.

• Diane Ullman — Award for Excellence in Teaching. Ullman is the co-founder and co-director of the Art-Science Fusion Program, and associate dean for undergraduate academic programs in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

• Kelly Hamby — Pacific Branch recipient of the John Henry Comstock Graduate Student Award (the national society sponsors six such awards, one for each branch). Hamby received her doctorate in entomology at the end of winter quarter, and is now a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of her major professor, Frank Zalom, an integrated pest management specialist and professor of entomology.

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Dateline UC Davis welcomes news of faculty and staff awards, for publication in Laurels. Send information to dateline@ucdavis.edu.

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