Women in STEM

From the Field to the Launchpad

Field hockey and aerospace engineering wouldn't seem to go hand in hand, but Shannon Lackey has managed her love for both interests seamlessly. While she finishes up her master's degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering, she's also playing field hockey on UC Davis' Division I team.

Sandia National Laboratories Honors Students for Innovative Monitor

Biomedical engineering seniors at the University of California, Davis, have received the 2023 Sandia Engineering Design Award for a capstone project that may transform how doctors treat elevated intracranial pressure, a severe condition where pressure continues to develop in someone’s head due to a tumor, brain infection or neurological injury.

NIH Awards Priya Shah $2.8 Million to Research How Zika Virus Causes Brain-Related Birth Defects

For most people, contracting Zika virus, a flavivirus carried by mosquitos, is akin to getting any mildly inconvenient virus. You might get a fever and a rash, and it's gone in a few days. But for pregnant people, there is a roughly 4% chance that a bite from a mosquito with Zika virus could have life-altering effects on developing fetuses in the form of microcephaly, a neurological condition that indicates an under-developed brain.  

UC Davis Professor Developing New Bioplastic Technology from Dairy Byproducts and Food Waste to Address Plastic Pollution

For decades, Ruihong Zhang, a professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, has been studying biological conversion of food waste to explore solutions that could address environmental challenges. Her recent research on biodegradable plastics using dairy byproducts may reduce the global level of plastic pollution.