Dr. Jovana Veselinović is the 2022 recipient of the College of Engineering's Zuhair A. Munir Award for best doctoral dissertation. She conducted groundbreaking interdisciplinary work on using nanoporous gold to detect biomarkers of disease while falling in love with Davis. She is the third straight chemical engineer to receive the honor.
In high school, fourth-year biochemical engineering major Stephan Alfaro never could have seen himself as a biochemical engineer, but through lab experience, mentorship and taking advantage of resources at UC Davis, he fell in love with the field and looks forward to making a difference.
Astronauts might one day grow and eat genetically modified plants to ward off disease associated with long spaceflights. Researchers at the College of Engineering have developed a transgenic, or genetically modified, lettuce producing a drug to protect against bone density loss in microgravity. Kevin Yates, a graduate student working with Professor Karen McDonald and Adjunct Professor Somen Nandi at the UC Davis Department of Chemical Engineering, developed the lettuce that expresses a fusion protein combining PTH with part of a human antibody protein. The fusion protein is designed to be stable in the bloodstream and to allow astronauts to potentially purify the drug from plant extracts, Nandi said.
Fourth-year Chemical Engineering Ph.D. Candidate Jared Stimac recently received a Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research Award. The award supports graduate students to conduct part of their thesis research at a DOE national lab while providing them training and access to state-of-the-art facilities and resources.
Toby Mea, a rising fourth year Ph.D. candidate at UC Davis, has been recognized for his teaching efforts with a Best Teaching Assistant Award in chemical engineering from the UC Davis College of Engineering.
As a Division I swimmer and a fourth-year biochemical engineering major, Kyla Leacox is a master of balance. She has made the most of her time at UC Davis as a standout swimmer and an undergraduate researcher and tutor in the chemical engineering department.
Dr. Sima Asadi is this year’s recipient of the Zuhair A. Munir Award for the best doctoral dissertation in the College of Engineering. She received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from UC Davis in 2020 and is now a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Spencer Dahl, a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering, is one of this year's 10 finalists in UC Davis Grad Slam. The finalists will present their research to a panel of external judges and an external audience for a chance to win $2,500 and compete in this year's UC-wide Grad Slam this May.
A new UC systemwide program led by chemical engineering professor Karen McDonald and the UC Davis Biotechnology program, in collaboration with Sacramento State University (Sac State), will help graduate students from underrepresented backgrounds improve their understanding of and preparation for academic careers in the professoriate.
Dr. Jennifer Nill is this year’s recipient of the Zuhair A. Munir Award for the best doctoral dissertation in the College of Engineering. She received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering in December 2019.
