University News

Fish ‘Beauty Salons’ Offer Insight into How Microbes Move Within Reefs

Katherine E Kerlin — June 05, 2025

Where do you go when you’re a fish and you need a skincare treatment? Coral reefs contain natural “beauty salons,” lively social hubs of activity where fish “clients” swim up and wait to be serviced by smaller fish cleaners. The little cleaners dart under and around their much bigger clients — even entering their mouths — cleaning their scales of bacteria and parasites like a team of car washers servicing a Buick. Sometimes cleaners even rub against their clients, providing a soothing massage.

Could Dietary Changes — Even After Obesity — Help Prevent Pancreatic Cancer?

Amy M Quinton — June 04, 2025

UC Davis researchers find low-fat diets slowed pancreatic precancer development in mice, even after weight gain.

Top UC Davis Graduate Aims To Transform Experience of Aging

Julia Ann Easley — June 03, 2025

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 and researched aging at the ��Ƶ, 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.

A Student’s Journey to Bridge Plants, People and the Planet

Cody Kitaura — June 03, 2025

Last fall, a cohort of UC Davis undergraduate students took part in Plants, People and the Planet, as part of Quarter at Aggie Square. This experience allows students to contribute to community-based initiatives that promote the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals related to agriculture, environmental conservation, and the development of resilient ecosystems, especially those in the Sacramento region.

Sheep Mowers Headed to the Quad This Week

Cody Kitaura — June 03, 2025

In their fifth year of grazing around campus, the sheep mowers will munch on the Quad for the first time this week.

A series of events will be held starting tomorrow (June 4), all organized by student interns in the project that has the sheep grazing publicly in a benefit to the landscape and the mental health of the campus community.

The sheep are scheduled to graze from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.

Here are organizers’ descriptions of the events:

Wednesday, June 4: Shepherds’ Art Cafe – “Ewe Brew & Create”

Next Book Project Title is Memoir of Perilous Migration

Cody Kitaura — June 03, 2025

The next title in the Campus Community Book Project is Solito: A Memoir, which tells the story of a 9-year-old’s solo journey from El Salvador to the United States to reunite with his parents.

Javier Zamora’s memoir was chosen for the book project’s 2025-26 theme, belonging. Over the next year, the campus community will be invited to participate in programming related to the theme and the book itself, culminating in a March 10 talk by the author at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.

2025 Summer Sessions: More Students, Classes, Events

Cody Kitaura — June 03, 2025

UC Davis Summer Sessions launches June 13 and features more for everyone this year with more students, more virtual courses and more co-curricular activities.

Nearly 14,400 undergraduates are currently registered for summer courses, about 9% more than the 2024 enrollment at the same time. Enrollment is also up for other students, including high school students, community college students, community members and other UC undergraduates.

Telehealth Can Improve Care for Cats with Chronic Health Issues

Amy M Quinton — June 03, 2025

UC Davis researchers found telehealth visits can improve care for cats with feline arthritis.

New Book Details the Good, Bad and Unexpected of Ibuprofen

Andy Fell — June 03, 2025

What you don’t know about ibuprofen, one of the world’s most popular painkillers, could well fill a book — and that book has just been published, authored by Professor Aldrin Gomes and 36 of his current and former students at the ��Ƶ, Davis.

“Ibuprofen is an affordable and widely used medication that has transformed pain management for millions worldwide,” said Gomes, who teaches in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior. “However, its story serves as a powerful reminder of the delicate balance between benefit and risk.”

Park Life

Jocelyn C Anderson — June 02, 2025

Did Al Capone have an outpost in the Everglades? How do inanimate stones manage to slide across the flat landscape of Death Valley National Park? And what happened to the lost colony of Roanoke?

For outdoor writer Mike Bezemek ’03, these tantalizing mysteries, and many others, are the subject of his new book, Mysteries of the National Parks: 35 Stories of Baffling Disappearances, Unexplained Phenomena, and More (Sourcebooks, 2025).

CHANCELL-ING: Aggies Excel in Academics, Athletics

Cody Kitaura — June 02, 2025

Commencement season is here, one of my favorite times of the year. It’s when we celebrate collectively a major milestone in the lives of our students and their families.

With a degree from UC Davis, students are well equipped for success in the next chapters of their lives, whether it’s entering the workforce, graduate school or whatever path comes next.

EV Battery Recycling Key to Future Lithium Supplies

Andy Fell — May 29, 2025

Lightweight, powerful lithium-ion batteries are crucial for the transition to electric vehicles, and global demand for lithium is set to grow rapidly over the next 25 years. A new analysis from the ��Ƶ, Davis, published May 29 in Nature Sustainability, looks at how new mining operations and battery recycling could meet that demand. Recycling could play a big role in easing supply constraints, the researchers found.

City-Dwelling Monarch Butterflies Stay Put

Andy Fell — May 28, 2025

Monarch butterflies are famous for their annual migrations, but not all migrate. In recent years, more and more monarchs have been living and breeding year-round in ��Ƶ’s Bay Area, thanks in part to the growing presence of non-native milkweeds in urban gardens.

Student-Led School Empowers 1,200 Afghan Girls

Anila Mary Lijo — May 27, 2025

In 2022, Walid Jailani, an undergraduate at UC Davis, launched an initiative to combat educational inequality in Afghanistan. Jailani is this month’s guest on Face to Face With Chancellor May.

Faculty Speakers Named for Undergraduate Commencements

Julia Ann Easley — May 27, 2025

The faculty members selected to speak to thousands of graduating students and guests at the five undergraduate commencements at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center in June exemplify the best in teaching.

Together, they are contributing to excellence in the field and have won awards for teaching from their academic departments, their colleges, the Academic Senate, UC Davis as a whole and beyond.

The speakers, listed in the chronological order of the ceremonies, are:

Among the Academies: Leading the Total-Body Imaging Revolution

Cody Kitaura — May 27, 2025

If he’d pursued his first love, Simon Cherry might be unraveling the mysteries of the universe through astronomy instead of developing new types of medical imaging technology.

Memorial Day a Reminder to Serve Others

Cody Kitaura — May 27, 2025

Last week’s Memorial Day Ceremony was a chance for many to honor personal connections and discuss ways to honor the memories of the Aggies who died in military service to this country.

The ceremony was held Thursday (May 22) outside the Memorial Union, which is so named in honor of the 136 Gold Star Aggies who gave their lives in military service dating back to World War I.

Course Inspires Next Generation of ��Ƶ Naturalists

Jocelyn C Anderson — May 27, 2025

Students who complete “Wild Davis,” an UC Davis course in wildlife conservation and habitat restoration, can earn ��Ƶ Naturalist Certification.

UC Davis and International Strawberry Master Licensee Eurosemillas Agree to Part Ways

Anila Mary Lijo — May 21, 2025

The ��Ƶ, Davis — a leader in the development of world-class strawberry varieties for the ��Ƶ and global markets – and Eurosemillas, S.A. — a leading agricultural company and plant developer based in Córdoba, Spain — have amicably agreed that Eurosemillas will no longer serve as the master licensee for UC Davis strawberries.

Ph.D. Alum Kathleen DuVal Wins Pulitzer Prize

Jocelyn C Anderson — May 21, 2025

Kathleen DuVal, Ph.D. ’01, won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History for her book Native Nations: A Millennium in North America (Random House, 2024). Prize winners were announced on May 5.

The announcement comes in addition to other prestigious awards DuVal has already received for the book, including the Bancroft Prize, the Cundill History Prize and the Mark Lynton History Prize.

DuVal said the positive reception to the book was apparent immediately.

University News

Fish ‘Beauty Salons’ Offer Insight into How Microbes Move Within Reefs

Could Dietary Changes — Even After Obesity — Help Prevent Pancreatic Cancer?

Top UC Davis Graduate Aims To Transform Experience of Aging

A Student’s Journey to Bridge Plants, People and the Planet

Sheep Mowers Headed to the Quad This Week

Next Book Project Title is Memoir of Perilous Migration

2025 Summer Sessions: More Students, Classes, Events

Telehealth Can Improve Care for Cats with Chronic Health Issues

New Book Details the Good, Bad and Unexpected of Ibuprofen

Park Life

CHANCELL-ING: Aggies Excel in Academics, Athletics

EV Battery Recycling Key to Future Lithium Supplies

City-Dwelling Monarch Butterflies Stay Put

Student-Led School Empowers 1,200 Afghan Girls

Faculty Speakers Named for Undergraduate Commencements

Among the Academies: Leading the Total-Body Imaging Revolution

Memorial Day a Reminder to Serve Others

Course Inspires Next Generation of ������Ƶ Naturalists

UC Davis and International Strawberry Master Licensee Eurosemillas Agree to Part Ways

Ph.D. Alum Kathleen DuVal Wins Pulitzer Prize

Course Inspires Next Generation of ��Ƶ Naturalists