IN THIS COLUMN

• Fleet Services, Facilities Management
• Kyle Crabtree, Department of Chemistry
• Alejandro Martinez, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Marina Radulaski, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Fleet Services drove away from 2021 with a trunk load of honors, including a pair of top-10 rankings in sustainability.

• Green Fleet Awards — The National Association of Fleet Administrators, or NAFA, rated UC Davis fourth best in this evaluation of sustainability efforts and changes in practices to benefit the environment.
• Green Garage Contest — NAFA rated UC Davis seventh best in this contest promoting innovative and simple ways to “green the maintenance garage.”

Fleet Services also earned the following honors:

• Leading Fleets — 14th best in a top-20 ranking by Government Fleet magazine and the American Public Works Association. Criteria, which judged fleets for demonstrating leadership with staff, customers and the community; staying efficient and competitive; overcoming challenges; and having vision and direction for the operation.
• 100 Best Fleets in the Americas — UC Davis placed 86th in this NAFA ranking of public fleets in public fleet in North, Central and South America.

Fleet Services’ progress during the year included the acquisition of electric and hybrid autos to replace older vehicles; an improved customer experience score, to excellent; motor pool optimization; Blue Seal certification for the shop, from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, or ASI; and, for a greener facility, new bins for separation of food waste.

The Laboratory Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society recently announced Kyle Crabtree, associate professor of chemistry, as the recipient of the division’s early career award for 2022.

“Crabtree has established a unique career at the intersection of molecular laboratory astrophysics, astronomical observations and astrochemical modeling,” the division said in its announcement. 

The award commends his research on chemical reactions that create complex organic molecules in areas of space where stars are forming. In addition to building state-of-the-art spectrometers to study these chemical reactions, he also conducts computational modeling to better understand how molecules behave in space. His experiments focus on molecules that may be precursors to life. 

— Becky Oskin, content strategist, College of Letters and Science

Recent awards in the College of Engineering:

• Alejandro Martinez, assistant professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering — 2022 Arthur Casagrande Professional Development Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers, in recognition of outstanding accomplishments in geotechnical engineering, specifically his pioneering research using multiscale interdisciplinary techniques that have advanced the emerging field of bio-inspired geotechnics, characterization of unconventional materials, and customization of soil-structure interfaces for civil infrastructure and site characterization tools. Read more on the CEE website.
• Marina Radulaski, assistant professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering — Inaugural recipient of the Female Researcher Award from Women in Quantum, part of OneQuantum, a community platform for anyone active or interested in quantum tech. Radulaski’s R-Lab is focused on developing quantum nanophotonic devices for the quantum internet. Read more on the ECE website.

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

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