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IN THIS COLUMN

• Luca Comai and Michele Igo receive 2016-17 Faculty Teaching Awards
• Alexandra Navrotsky elected an academician of the World Academy of Ceramics
• Agricultural and Applied Economics Association honors Ed Taylor, Diane Charlton, Julian Alston and Christian Lovell
• Susan Ustin: New fellow of the American Geophysical Union
• Hispanic National Bar Foundation presents Academic Leadership Award to Dean Kevin R. Johnson

The College of Biological Sciences gave two Faculty Teaching Awards for 2016-17, honoring Luca Comai, professor of plant biology, and Michele Igo, professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, for excellence in teaching through enthusiasm and effectiveness of instruction, application of technology and innovation in the classroom, and mentorship and motivation of students. 

The college recently posted a news story on the recipients. Excerpts:

“Lauded for his artistic creativity, Comai is known to frequently draw cartoon models on classroom whiteboards. These illustrations give life to critical concepts being introduced to students and provide engaging visuals to aid classroom instruction.”

“By adding active learning techniques to the BIS 2A lectures, such as case studies, problem-solving scenarios, and collaborative, online assignments, Igo’s goal is to encourage students’ critical-thinking abilities and to help them apply course material to new situations. The inclusion of open-ended questions and time for students to interact in lectures gives students the opportunity to apply and reinforce the concepts as they are learned.”

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Alexandra Navrotsky, distinguished professor of ceramic, earth and environmental materials chemistry, has been elected an academician of the World Academy of Ceramics. It confers such status (also known as professional membership) in recognition of “international noteworthy contribution to the advancement of ceramics.”

Navrotsky joined the 69���� faculty in 1997 and has held the Edward Roessler Chair in Mathematical and Physical Sciences since 2001. She is the director of , an organized research unit; and the .

Her research at this time focuses on natural and synthetic nanomaterials, including natural zeolites (porous crystalline aluminosilicates) and zeolitelike structures important in the chemical industry for commercial glasses and ceramics, and for refining petroleum. 

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Two faculty members and two graduate students in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics are the recipients of awards and a scholarship from the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. It announced the honors during its annual meeting, held this year in Chicago, July 30-Aug. 1.

Ed Taylor, professor, and his former student Diane Charlton received honorable mention for Quality of Research Discovery, stemming from their study of the agricultural labor supply from rural Mexico. This is the United States’ main source of hired farmworkers, and Taylor and Charlton found that the supply is decreasing at a rate of approximately 150,000 workers per year.

The researchers published their study, in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics (a publication of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association) in June 2016.  Charlton was a Ph.D. candidate at the time of the study; she subsequently earned her doctorate and is now an assistant professor of agricultural economics and economics at Montana State University.

Julian Alston and two co-authors received two awards for — judged the most outstanding article in the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association’s other journal, Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, and best paper out of the association’s Food Safety and Nutrition Section.

Alston is a distinguished professor, director of the Robert Mondavi Institute Center for Wine Economics, and a member of the Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics. He shared the awards with Joanna MacEwan, a research economist with Precision Health Economics; and Abigail Okrent, an economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.

Christian Lovell, working toward a Master of Science degree in agricultural and resource economics, won a scholarship from the Anthony Grano Special Purpose Fund, which supports academically successful, highly motivated students in agricultural economics or a closely related discipline with an interest in agricultural policy and the policy formation process.

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Susan Ustin has been named a fellow of the American Geophysical Union. It confers fellow status on members who have made exceptional contributions to Earth and space sciences.

Ustin is a professor of environmental and resource sciences in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, and the associate director of research at the John Muir Institute of the Environment.

AGU fellows help advise, upon request, government agencies and other organizations regarding Earth and space sciences topics.

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The Hispanic National Bar Foundation recently presented its Academic Leadership Award to Kevin R. Johnson, dean of the School of Law. The award honors excellence in the legal profession and commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Johnson, the Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies, is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law and civil rights.

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Dateline UC Davis welcomes news of faculty and staff awards, for publication in Laurels. Send information to dateline@ucdavis.edu.