Louise Jackson, David Mackill, Larry N. Vanderhoef: AAAS Fellows

Three CA&ES professors are among the six UC Davis faculty members newly named as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The rank is conferred on AAAS members for their efforts to advance science or its applications.

• Louise Jackson, a professor and Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, was named an AAAS fellow in the section on Agriculture, Food, and Renewable Resources. Jackson studies plant-soil relationships and the effects of changes in vegetation, land use, and climate on environmental quality. She works with farmers and ranchers to improve the sustainability of California ecosystems. Her focus is on the use and conservation of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes for nutrient cycling, soil quality, organic agriculture, grassland restoration, and climate change adaptation.
  
  
• David Mackill, an associate geneticist in the Department of Plant Sciences, was named an AAAS fellow in the section on Agriculture, Food, and Renewable Resources. Mackill is an international expert on rice genetics and breeding. He has conducted research on the genetics of disease resistance and abiotic stress tolerance with the aim of developing more resistant rice varieties. He and colleagues identified and transferred a gene conferring tolerance to submergence into new, high-yielding rice varieties. This scientific advancement has critical significance for areas such as southern Asia where monsoonal rains routinely cause destructive floods.
  
  
• Chancellor Emeritus Larry N. Vanderhoef, who returned to teaching and research after serving 15 years as chancellor of UC Davis and 10 years as executive vice chancellor and provost, was named an AAAS fellow in the section on Biological Sciences. Plant biologist Vanderhoef is now a professor emeritus in both CA&ES and the College of Biological Sciences, where his interests are in plant growth and development. Vanderhoef is teaching a biology course for non-science majors, which he has taught at UC Davis and at National Taiwan University, and is continuing his work on the national and international level promoting interactions in the Middle East and Far East.
  
  

Three additional UC Davis faculty from other colleges were also named AAAS fellows this year, including Alan Balch, a distinguished professor in the Department of Chemistry, professor Peter Beal, also of the Department of Chemistry, and Maureen Stanton, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and a professor in the Department of Evolution and Ecology. In February, the 539 scientists who are newly elected AAAS fellows will be honored at the association’s annual meeting to be held in Vancouver, Canada.

Louise Jackson
(530) 754-9116
lejackson@ucdavis.edu

David Mackill
(530) 752-4940
djmackill@ucdavis.edu

Larry Vanderhoef
lnvanderhoef@ucdavis.edu

Media contact:

• Andy Fell, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-4533, ahfell@ucdavis.edu