Latest News

Scholars on Latin American Literature, Languages and Cultures Gather for Colloquium

About 30 scholars, including many UC Davis graduate and undergraduate students, will present research at a two-day Department of Spanish and Portuguese colloquium titled “Digital Landscapes: Paths to Reparative Justice in a Technological World.” The 16th annual Samuel G. Armistead Colloquium in Latin American and Peninsular Languages, Literature and Cultures will delve into the relationship among the humanities, technological resources and social justice. The hybrid event, mostly in Spanish, takes place April 6 and 7 in person with virtual options.

Building Materials for the Future

Beneath the concrete world discernible to our senses is a world of building blocks. A world of molecules, and beneath that, atoms. The organization of these individual parts dictates the properties of materials. In Professor of Chemistry Davide Donadio's lab, Frank Cerasoli, a postdoctoral researcher, uses computer simulations to model materials at the molecular level, with the hope of discovering new materials that can advance our technologies.

Three College of Letters and Science Students Ready to Rumble for UC Davis Grad Slam

Three College of Letters and Science graduate students will test their research communication prowess at the upcoming 2023 UC Davis Grad Slam. Created and organized by Graduate Studies, the competition provides 10 graduate students the opportunity to present a three-minute pitch about their research. The competition will be held at the UC Davis Graduate Center on April 6 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

23rd Annual R. Bryan Miller Symposium to be Held In-Person for First Time Since Pandemic

Mark your calendars because the R. Bryan Miller Symposium returns this April for its first in-person event since 2020. Featuring a stellar lineup of high-profile speakers and leading-edge researchers in chemical biology, organic, medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry, the 23rd annual symposium creates a pipeline between academia and industry, allowing students to network, present their research and learn skills pivotal to their future professional careers. The free event is scheduled for April 13 and 14 at the UC Davis Conference Center.

Three Alumnae Named Sacramento Latino Change Makers

Melinda Guzman, Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre and Lydia Ramirez attended UC Davis at different times, pursued different majors in the College of Letters and Science, and followed different paths to successful careers in law, business advocacy and banking. Their paths converged at various times, most recently with a shared honor: each was named to The Sacramento Bee’s inaugural list of Top 25 Latino Change Makers for leading positive transformations in their communities.

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Course Tackles Big Tech Privacy Concerns

Geared toward mathematics, statistics and computer science graduate students, MAT 280: “Fairness, Privacy and Trustworthiness in Machine Learning” aims to elevate tenets of social responsibility when it comes to developing machine learning and artificial intelligence-based systems. The special topics class focuses on the mathematical concepts underlying machine learning and how these concepts can be used for the better.

Fisher and Masiel Receive Global Affairs Teaching Awards

Two College of Letters and Science faculty members have been recognized for their outstanding global engagement work with Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching of Study Abroad Awards: Jaimey Fisher, professor of German and cinema and digital media, and David Masiel, continuing lecturer in the University Writing Program.

Wine Honors Economist Marianne Page

Marianne Page can count numerous accomplishments during her career as an economics professor in the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis, but none like an honor recently bestowed by a Napa Valley winemaker. Page appears on the label of The Sage, an organic red blend wine created by Kira Ballotta for her Cantadora brand that celebrates Page and two other women “doing extraordinary things in support of their communities.”

Mobile App Founded by UC Davis Physics Student Empowers Socially Responsible Investors

An app founded by a UC Davis graduate student is poised to revolutionize financial investing for the socially conscious. Fennel, a mobile investing app that gives users insights into a company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics, was recently named one of Fast Company’s “10 most innovative companies in personal finance of 2023.” What’s more, the company has raised roughly $8.5 million in seed funding to support its growth during its beta stages.

UC Davis-Led Startup Develops Novel Tech to Increase Dietary Fiber's Health Benefits

Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Carlito B. Lebrilla and other UC Davis researchers are paving a path to commercialize a new technology that they hope will make dietary fiber easier to add into food and more acceptable to the consumer. The novel depolymerization technology can chop up fiber from long polysaccharides into small, bioactive chains of carbohydrates, called oligosaccharides. The process doesn't change the structure of the fiber, but makes it soluble, digestible and palatable.

Camelia Hostinar and Tim Brelinski Receive Teaching Awards

Two faculty in the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis have been recognized by their campus peers for outstanding teaching. Camelia Hostinar, associate professor of psychology, is a recipient of the Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award:  Undergraduate. Tim Brelinski, a continuing lecturer in classics, received the Academic Federation’s Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award

Alumni Awards Go to Three College Graduates

Three alumni of the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis — an international economist, a racial justice advocate, and an assets manager dedicated to supporting research and educational excellence — are recipients of Cal Aggie Alumni Association’s 2023 Alumni Awards.

$4M Grant Helps Expand Open Education Platform Founded by UC Davis Faculty Member

A $4 million award from the California Education Learning Lab will help expand an innovative, open education project founded by a UC Davis College of Letters and Science professor. LibreTexts is an online textbook platform that aims to “unite students, faculty and scholars in a cooperative effort to develop an easy-to-use online platform for the construction, customization and dissemination of open educational resources to reduce the burdens of unreasonable textbook costs.”