A team of biological and agricultural engineering students from the University of California, Davis, won the Western Growers Award for Excellence in Specialty Crops during the 2026 Farm Robotics Challenge.
Each year, the UC Davis College of Engineering celebrates the graduating seniors who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, academic achievement and service both in and out of the classroom. These outstanding Aggie Engineers share their most impactful moments and fondest memories from their time at UC Davis.
Farzaneh Khorsandi, associate professor of cooperative extension in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, has been recognized for her groundbreaking work improving agricultural safety through engineering innovations, AI-driven approaches and advancements in ATV and machinery safety.
Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering Ruihong Zhang has received the 2026 Yolo County Climate Crisis Champion award from Rep. Mike Thompson. The annual award honors the outstanding efforts to address climate change from community members in California’s fourth congressional district.
From advancing cybersecurity to building inclusive communities and strengthening campus safety, four UC Davis students are honored with the College of Engineering’s Graduate Student Excellence Awards.
The UC Davis College of Engineering celebrates faculty members, graduate students and undergraduate students selected by the college's eight academic departments to receive Excellence in Teaching Awards, Outstanding Senior Awards and undergraduate student department citations.
With cocoa crops increasingly threatened by climate change, UC Davis engineers are helping develop cultured chocolate grown directly from plant cells. The burgeoning technology could transform how chocolate is produced while making the treat more sustainable and resilient.
From GLP-1 treatment to upcycling coffee and legume waste streams, students tackled real food-related issues with an entrepreneurial mindset in Innovation for Impact: Food Systems, colloquially called “Hacking 4 Food.” Instructor and facilitator Alice Dien, a Ph.D. candidate in biological systems engineering, shares her reflections.
The Minnesota marshes Matthew Maciosek explored as a child are threatened by agricultural groundwater use. Now a UC Davis biological systems engineering student, he's researching sustainable irrigation practices in California's Central Valley to help protect wetlands for future generations.
