Fall 2024 Content

Alum Tells Baseball Player’s Uplifting Story

Jocelyn C Anderson — September 18, 2024 - 10:31am

Aggies came together earlier this summer to help launch a new book by Aaron Fischman ’11.

Fischman’s book, A Baseball Gaijin: Chasing a Dream to Japan and Back (Sports Publishing, 2024), traces Tony Barnette’s six-year path playing baseball in Japan before heading to the majors at 32. So it made sense to hold his first signing at a single-A San Jose Giants game in June at the invitation of Ben Taylor ’11, who is the general manager. And the first person in line for a book? Another Aggie.

6 Big Issues in the Presidential Election

Russell L Thebaud — September 04, 2024 - 9:40am

As the presidential election heats up, a vast array of issues takes center stage. ΢��Ƶ Magazine went to experts in political science, economics, law and more for insights on what’s happening now and what’s at stake. Here, they answer some crucial questions for 2024.

Do Mass Media Really Matter for Elections?

By Amber Boydstun, professor of political science

Early Days

Jocelyn C Anderson — August 19, 2024 - 9:55pm

Dawnté Early ’05, M.S. ’08, Ph.D. ’11, spent midmorning on a recent summer day painting rocks with several 4- and 5-year-old boys. At times it got pretty messy, with yellow, red and blue combining to make a dingy brown, but that was all part of the learning process.

This KinderCamp program introduces children who didn’t have access to preschool to the classroom for four weeks in the summer. United Way runs the program in partnership with several local groups.

3 Exhibitions to See This Fall

Jocelyn C Anderson — August 19, 2024 - 9:45pm

Exhibitions featuring new sculpture and installation commissions, paintings from world-renowned artists, and large-scale ceramics debut this fall at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at the University of California, Davis.

How Does Immigration Affect the United States?

Russell L Thebaud — August 19, 2024 - 2:52pm

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, immigrants made up 13.9% of the total population in 2022. Among them are highly skilled workers who fill critical gaps in high tech industries as well those who construct the buildings in which we live and who plant and harvest the foods we eat. Some arrive seeking greater opportunity while others bring hope simply for a life free from persecution and poverty.

Enhancements Coming to Arboretum

Jocelyn C Anderson — August 19, 2024 - 1:39pm

The ΢��Ƶ Arboretum and Public Garden is undergoing construction as part of the Waterway Enhancement Project.

Phase 1 of this project, spanning from 2016 to 2018, occurred in the East End, and targeted the improvement of water flow and quality. Currently, Phase 2 continues the construction from Lake Spafford to the West End. This is funded by a $5.4 million grant from the state, matched by $2.5 million from the university, the largest grant the ΢��Ƶ Arboretum and Public Garden has ever received.

Bugs All the Time

Jocelyn C Anderson — August 19, 2024 - 10:15am

Alex Wild, Ph.D. ’05 moved to Davis in 1999 to pursue his passion for entomology.

He earned his undergraduate degree at Bowdoin College and spent a couple years working in South America for the Peace Corps. After discussing entomology with faculty at Stanford, Cornell and the University of Texas at Austin, Wild was encouraged by many to apply to ΢��Ƶ. He emailed Professor Phil Ward about joining his lab, spontaneously relocated to Davis with a readjustment allowance from the Peace Corps and eventually secured a place at ΢��Ƶ.

Meet the Undergraduates Who Won Big Bang!

Jocelyn C Anderson — August 19, 2024 - 10:05am

This year, a team of ΢��Ƶ undergraduates took home the first prize in the annual Big Bang! Business Competition. The EpiSense team won the $25,000 award with their pitch for a wearable device that could significantly improve quality of life for patients with epilepsy.

The Next Generation

Jocelyn C Anderson — August 19, 2024 - 10:00am

For Hannah Holzer ’20, becoming a children’s book author started with ΢��Ƶ connections.

In December, her first book, Kid Reporter Field Guide (Penguin Young Readers, 2024) comes out as part of Penguin’s partnership with Time for Kids to nurture young learners. One of her former classmates brought the idea to her.

Understanding the Threat of Bird Flu

Russell L Thebaud — August 19, 2024 - 9:50am

Since 2022, a new, highly pathogenic strain of H5N1 influenza or “bird flu” has spread worldwide. In the US it has affected over a 100 million birds and for the first time, spread into dairy cows and a small, but growing, number of people. At ΢��Ƶ, experts in One Health — an approach that considers the health of people, animals and the environment together — are on high alert.

Nothing but death

Dead silence met Marcela Uhart and her team when they arrived at the elephant seal colony at Punta Delgada, Patagonia on Oct. 10, 2023.