IN THIS COLUMN
- Matt Bishop, College of Engineering
- Susan Ustin, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
- Gary S. May, College of Engineering
- Andrés Reséndez, College of Letters and Science
- Geerat J. Vermeij, College of Letters and Science
- Gang Sun, College of Engineering
- Office of Strategic Communications
Election Day is the perfect time to note two recent honors for Matt Bishop, professor of computer science in the College of Engineering, perhaps best known for his work in election security.
- In August, he became the first UC Davis faculty member to be elected to the Information Systems Security Association Hall of Fame, a lifetime achievement award recognizing exceptional leadership and exemplary commitment to the information security profession.
- Then, in October, he became the first UC Davis faculty member to receive the Taylor L. Booth Award for contributions as an educator, author and technical leader in cybersecurity education. The award is given annually by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society. Booth, an IEEE leader who died in 1986, was instrumental in defining computer science and engineering curricula for program accreditation.
Bishop conducts vulnerability analysis to make computing systems more secure. His research involves analyzing and modeling these systems to find and eliminate potential security issues. He has helped election officials in Ƶ and across the country vet their electronic voting systems and processes to find and fix security issues since 2003.
Susan Ustin, professor emerita, Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, recently received the 2022 Pecora individual award for outstanding contributions to Earth observation and remote sensing — specifically, her work to develop and apply imaging spectroscopy to environmental problems.
The Pecora awards, sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior and NASA, are named after William T. Pecora (1913-72), who served as director of the U.S. Geological Survey from 1965 to 1971 and later as undersecretary of the Department of the Interior.
“Dr. Ustin is a true pioneer in advancing the application of remote sensing in understanding biodiversity, plant community characteristics, invasive species and land use,” the USGS said in its .
Ustin has served on several NASA mission science teams, trained a generation of scientists in the use of spectroscopy for ecological research. She is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Ecological Society of America.
She directed the program from 2002 to 2006, now led by UC Davis Professor Yufang Jin. ƵView is part of the AmericaView Consortium, which received the Pecora group award in 2021.
— Kat Kerlin, environmental science writer, News and Media Relations
Chancellor Gary S. May and two other members of the faculty participated in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences' induction weekend in September, a catch-up event for members elected in 2020 and 2021 but whose induction ceremonies were delayed by the pandemic. Chancellor May, professor of electrical and computer engineering, was the only person elected from UC Davis in 2020. Andrés Reséndez, professor of history, and Geerat J. Vermeij, distinguished professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, were elected in 2021. Following tradition, each of them signed the ’s Book of Members. Others elected in 2020: Robert Feenstra, professor, Department of Economics; and Jodi Nunnari, professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Biological Sciences.