UC Davis Grand Challenges

Addressing our planet’s most complex issues requires new perspectives and visionary action. UC Davis Grand Challenges is catalyzing our campus community to go beyond team science to holistically tackle wicked problems. We draw upon UC Davis’ enduring strengths, capacity for innovation, and culture of collaboration — bringing together world-class researchers from all areas of study to address the Earth’s most daunting challenges.

Learn more about Grand Challenges

a large group of indoor air quality experts from uc davis college of engineering and the california department of public health holding up a flag for the state of california

Video Series Aims at Improving Indoor Air Quality

  • by Andy Fell, UC Davis News and Media Relations
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.
Sabbie Miller outdoors

Pathways to Decarbonize Society's Most Popular Material

  • by Sabbie A. Miller
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.
Maike Sonnewald

Beneath the Surface

  • by Jessica Heath
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.
Student tour

Annual Student Rally Connects Students to Local Research and Industry

  • by Ian Nielsen
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.
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