Faculty

Chemical Engineering Professor to Lead New Center for Alternative Meat and Protein

The University of California, Davis, is leading the establishment of a new Integrative Center for Alternative Meat and Protein, or iCAMP. The center will work toward large-scale commercialization and technological advancement of alternative proteins, including cultivated meat (from animal cells grown in large fermentors), plant- and fungal-based foods, and innovative hybrids that combine conventional meat products with alternative proteins.

Tackling Climate Change with Chemical Engineering

As researchers look for new ways to help slow a changing climate and mitigate the effects of a fossil fuel-based energy system, UC Davis professor Ambarish Kulkarni and his team of researchers are using chemical engineering to find sustainable solutions.

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 Team Takes Next Big Step in Wine Research

For the first time on a commercial scale, researchers from UC Davis have controlled the redox potential during a wine fermentation, an important step in making winemaking more efficient and reproducible and paving the way for a new generation of experiments in viticulture, microbiology and fermentation. 

Jennifer Sinclair Curtis Elected to National Academy of Engineering

Jennifer Sinclair Curtis, Distinguished Professor in the University of California, Davis, Department of Chemical Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Curtis, who served as the first female dean of the UC Davis College of Engineering from October 2015 through December 2020, is one of 16 current UC Davis faculty members in the academy.

UC Davis Professors Bring Chemical Engineering Back to its Whiskey Roots

For UC Davis Chemical Engineering Professor Greg Miller, a new course began with a single sip.  While tasting whiskey with friends, he noted an unusual peppery flavor and became curious how it was produced. The more he looked, the more he realized that there wasn’t an easy answer, as most whiskey distillers rely on tried-and-true recipes instead of science.  

Thwarting Viruses, Restoring Speech

Chemical engineer and microbiologist Priya Shah has been awarded $40,000 for her project that unravels the essential aspects of arbovirus replication, and aims to thwart a major source of emerging disease by identifying novel therapeutic targets.