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.
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.
Fungi and yeast as architects for cultured meat? Ph.D. candidate Begum Koysuren engineers living scaffolds that allow cells to attach, grow and organize naturally. Her work could transform how we produce sustainable food — by letting nature do what it does best.
Between her biological systems engineering research and her job as assistant grower at Gotham Greens, aka her “living lab,” master's student Grace Algeo is focused on developing practical tools that support growers, strengthen sustainability efforts and point toward a more resilient future for agriculture.
UC Davis will soon open the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Center for Agricultural Innovation, where Fadi Fathallah, professor and chair of biological and agricultural engineering, is leading robotics research to develop practical, field-ready technologies that improve efficiency, sustainability and resilience in modern agriculture.
Research led by UC Davis Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering Isaya Kisekka is using real-time data and smarter irrigation strategies to keep farms productive while safeguarding California’s long-term agricultural resilience.
The EPiC project is rethinking where biomanufacturing can happen, from remote deserts to space. With plant-based “mini factories,” 3D-printed handheld bioreactors and innovative training, the team is building a more sustainable future for making food, medicine and more.
As California's agricultural sector adopts automation to manage costs, labor shortages and production risks, researchers at UC Davis are partnering with them to develop solutions that can make a real difference in the field.
With a quick leaf scan, the AI-powered Leaf Monitor delivers real-time nutrient insights for crops. By replacing weeks-long lab tests, the new tool, developed by UC Davis engineers, can help farmers boost yields, cut fertilizer waste and manage fields with precision and sustainability.
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have been awarded a $3 million National Science Foundation grant to develop new technologies and workforce training programs to grow plants in low-resource environments both on Earth and in space.
