Awards & Recognition

Selected by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, the award supports the professional development of promising early-career researchers in structural materials.

The election recognizes the efforts of Kim Budil, M.S. '88, Ph.D. '94, to advance nuclear deterrence through technical contributions, as well as her outstanding leadership of the Lawrence Livermore National Lab and advice to the United States government.

Kim, an assistant professor of computer science, has been named a 2026 Sloan Research Fellow by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The two-year, $75,000 fellowship will support his work on understanding quantum entanglement of multiple particles, a key step in developing quantum computers.

Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Zhaodan Kong has earned a CITRIS-CDSS Innovation Fellowship to pilot FireFly, an AI-powered sensor and drone system designed to detect wildfires at their earliest stages.

Sortify is a tech business emerging out of UC Davis, co-founded by Agarwal and fellow students Yash Nadge and Yahya Habibi. The idea is simple: attach a small camera to disposal bins that alert individuals where a piece of trash is supposed to go. Powered by AI, these cameras will either use voice, a screen or lights to signal proper disposal.

UC Davis senior Shreya Chandra has been named to Aviation Week’s 2026 20 Twenties, a global honor recognizing standout STEM students in the aerospace field. The award highlights her achievements in mechanical and aerospace engineering and connects her with industry leaders.

Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Zhi Ding is the 39th recipient of the UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement. The donor-funded $80,000 prize, supported by the UC Davis Foundation, is among the largest of its kind in the country.

Materials Today has honored Marina Radulaski, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, Davis, with a Rising Star Award for her outstanding research and promise for continued leadership in quantum materials and electronics.

Professor G. R. Branner has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, Santa Clara Valley-San Francisco Joint Section Chapter. The honor celebrates his remarkable achievements in advancing RF and microwave education and technologies.

The Universities Space Research Association, or USRA, named Aidan Guerra, a fourth-year mechanical engineering and aerospace science and engineering double major at the University of California, Davis, to the class of 2025 Distinguished Undergraduate Award winners.