Research

Creating Nanoislands for Better Platinum Catalysts

Noble metals such as platinum can make useful catalysts to accelerate chemical reactions, particularly hydrogenation (adding hydrogen atoms to a molecule). The research team led by Professor Bruce Gates at the UC Davis Department of Chemical Engineering is interested in making platinum catalysts that are highly efficient and stable during chemical reactions.

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.

Brewed to Perfection

It’s a scorching summer morning at UC Davis, but inside a laboratory at Everson Hall, about 20 students are busy brewing hot cups of joe. They’ve just completed a competition to brew the perfect cup of coffee — and earned college credits at the same time.

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.