University Awards

Four faculty, two each in CBS departments and graduate groups, are among this year’s recipients of the Academic Senate and Federation top awards. They are in a cohort of 15 academics across various disciplines throughout the university to be recognized. 

The awards cite the impact these academics have had on their fields, on UC Davis students and on the broader community through public service.

They are experts in a parasitic amoeba, scientific history, the health effects of stress and more, and now these eight faculty members can add a new title: Chancellor’s Fellow.

The recognition is given each year to early career academics doing exemplary work, and the 2025-26 class will be recognized at a reception next week.

Two College of Biological Sciences faculty members—Keith Baar, professor of neurobiology, physiology and behavior, and Laura Bogar, assistant professor of plant biology—received a STAIR Grant and a Hellman Fellowship, respectively.

In the college, undergraduate students don’t just learn from textbooks—they actively contribute to new scientific knowledge through hands-on research. This experiential learning is a hallmark of a UC Davis education, especially in the life sciences.

For his outstanding commitment to ensuring undergraduate students have these meaningful and immersive research experiences, Chang‑il Hwang, an associate professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, has received a 2025 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research.

Each year, the College of Biological Sciences honors its top undergraduates at a special awards ceremony attended by friends, family, mentors, and donors. The 2025 recipients were recognized for their academic excellence, commitment to building community, service to campus and peers, and exceptional achievements in research.

Four students from the College of Biological Sciences have been recognized with 2025 Norma J. Lang Prizes for Undergraduate Information Research, awarded annually by the UC Davis Library.

The prestigious award celebrates undergraduates who demonstrate exceptional skill in finding, evaluating, and synthesizing information to support original research. Now in its ninth year, the prize honors the legacy of the late Professor Emerita of Botany Norma J. Lang, a beloved UC Davis faculty member whose gift to the university continues to support and inspire student scholarship.

Only on annual visits to India was Avantika Gokulnatha able to help care for her now late grandfather as his health failed. But the San Jose resident endeavored to help others near her.

Gokulnatha did just that as she studied biological sciences, majored in genetics and genomics, and researched aging at the University of California, Davis. She volunteered with a local hospice, revived a student organization to help seniors with technology, and led other undergraduate volunteers at a clinic providing free medical care to uninsured and marginalized people.

Developmental biologist Alice Accorsi, an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, is the recipient of the 2025 UC Davis Early Career Faculty Award for Creativity and Innovation.

Meet the eight faculty members who comprise the newest class of Chancellor’s Fellows, given to early career academics doing exemplary work in their fields. One of the new fellows, Kassandra Ori-McKenney, is a an associate professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and four others are affiliated with the college's interdisciplinary graduate groups. 

Three members of the CBS faculty community have been named Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science (CAMPOS) scholars. The prestigious honor provides mentorship, support and community to new faculty members.