UC Davis Grand Challenges

From fire-detecting drone swarms to optimally efficient human-autonomy collaboration, the UC Davis mechanical and aerospace engineering professor and a principal investigator at CITRIS uses complex technological systems to address complex challenges.

At UC Davis, the chemical engineering Ph.D. student and iCAMP researcher aims to lower the production costs of cultivated meat, making it a sustainable, affordable solution for a global problem.

A new video series developed by experts at the UC Davis College of Engineering and California Department of Public Health aims to help building and facility managers better understand how to manage indoor air quality. Better indoor air quality can reduce the spread of airborne diseases such as COVID-19 and improve productivity in schools and workplaces.

Since the largest contributor to emissions is use of fossil fuels, the clearest path to lowering emissions is reducing use of coal, oil, and gas. However, one ubiquitous material, concrete, produces over 7% of anthropogenic CO2, with less than half of these emissions attributable to fuel and, as such, requires other decarbonization strategies.

The biological and agricultural engineering researcher speaks with International Comunicaffe about the role of technologies like AI and sensors in revolutionizing coffee research, enhancing sustainability and addressing global challenges in coffee production and processing.

Oceanographer-slash-computer-scientist Maike Sonnewald discusses using artificial intelligence to build a foundation of knowledge and insight into the ocean’s role in the climate system to better predict long-range weather and help society prepare for climate change.

The new center, led by Associate Professor Kari Watkins, will contribute to advancing the nation's transportation decarbonization and resilient infrastructure goals.

The UC Davis student branch of the ASABE hosted the organization’s Annual Student Rally for California and Nevada in January, where students learned about today’s agricultural industry, from producing high-protein almond milk to gene editing for essential crops to heritage sheep breeding.

The University of California, Davis, is leading the establishment of a new Integrative Center for Alternative Meat and Protein, or iCAMP. The center will work toward large-scale commercialization and technological advancement of alternative proteins, including cultivated meat (from animal cells grown in large fermentors), plant- and fungal-based foods, and innovative hybrids that combine conventional meat products with alternative proteins.