Robert Page Leads Department of Entomology
Professor Robert Page was named chair of the Department of Entomology effective in October 1999. Born and raised in Bakersfield, he received his B.S. in entomology at San Jose State University and his Ph.D. at UC Davis. He was a graduate student in the department from 1976 to 1980 and joined the faculty in 1989. Page's area of research is behavioral genetics of honeybees. Page indicated that challenges his department faces now include dealing with current biological and information revolutions and integrating them into research as well as classrooms.


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Gary Polis Named Leopold Leadership Fellow
Professor Gary Polis, chair of the Department of Environmental Science & Policy, received a Fellowship from the Aldo Leopold Foundation, a program operated by Oregon State University on behalf of the Ecological Society of America (ESA). ESA, a non-partisan, non-profit organization of scientists, works to stimulate sound ecological research, clarify and communicate the science of ecology and promote the responsible application of ecological knowledge to public issues. ESA's 7,600 members conduct research, teach and work to provide the ecological knowledge needed to solve environmental problems. The goal of the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program is to provide advanced leadership and communications training to a select group of environmental scientists. It seeks outstanding scientists interested in playing a more active role in communicating scientific knowledge to the broader world and in providing leadership within the scientific community. Each year, 20 tenured academic environmental scientists are chosen to be Leopold Leadership Fellows. Fellows attend two one-week training sessions where they sharpen leadership and communication skills. Training modules focus on leadership within the scientific community, communicating with the media, interacting with the private sector, providing scientific input to the policy process and working with NGOs.


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Hossein Farzin Appointed Associate Editor
Associate Professor Y Hossein Farzin, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, was appointed associate editor of the "Review of Development Economics," an international journal published by Blackwell, Oxford. He serves through August 2003. Farzin served as an economist at the World Bank where he conducted research on many international economic issues, including energy markets, foreign aid and the external debt problem of developing countries. He was responsible for the economic programs and performance of several developing countries.

More information availableonline


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D.R. Wagner Exhibits Tapestry
Design lecturer D. R. Wagner's petit point tapestry will be included in several major exhibitions in Sacramento, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Missouri, and Boulder, Colorado, during the next several months. "Death Ship," one of Wagner's tapestries displayed in an invitational exhibition titled 'Men in Cloth," runs through February 6, 2000, at the Loveland Museum/Gallery in Boulder. The exhibition, which will travel nationally for two years, also will be featured at the national Surface Design Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, in June. Wagner has been invited to prepare an electronic signboard exhibition as part of the national conference.


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Joseph DiTomaso is Advisor on "Bicentennial Man"
When the unit production manager for the film "Bicentennial Man" needed advice on how to deal with the problem of poison oak on the set, he called vegetable crops/weed science Extension specialist Joseph DiTomaso. According to DiTomaso, the film crew wanted to build a house in a secluded cove in Half Moon Bay; however, there was a tremendous amount of poison oak surrounding it. A crew of workers thought it was willow and tried to remove it by hand, and they ended up in the hospital. DiTomaso went to the site and to other filming sites they would be using. He suggested that they wear protective clothing, cut the plants to the base in the area around the house, cover the ground with cloth tarp and then cover the tarp with sand. "They could remove the tarp after filming, and the area would return to its original form in about a year," he said. Because he is highly sensitive to poison oak, star Robin Williams wouldn't go outside until he was assured that the film crew had taken preventative measures to control the poison oak. DiTomaso followed up his visit with a letter to the production manager. The letter was forwarded on to Williams to let him know that a weed expert had addressed the poison oak problem. "After the filming," DiTomaso said, "I received a note that said everything went well and that nobody contracted dermatitis. It's a good, happy story."


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Vertebrate Pest Conference
The 19th Vertebrate Pest Conference, chaired by UC Davis researchers, will be held March 6-9, 2000, in San Diego. Speakers will report on all aspects of the management and control of animal pests. Topics include animals ranging from muskrats to mountain lions; bird hazards at airports; feral horse grazing on public lands; crop damage and livestock predation; large predators in India; sociopolitical issues such as trapping and poisoning; animal birth-control strategies; and rabies and other human health threats.

More information availableonline


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Ecological Farming Conference
"Riding the Organic Wave: 20 Years on the Crest of Eco-Agriculture" is the theme of the 20th annual Ecological Farming Conference to be held January 19-22, 2000, at the Asilomar Conference Center near Monterey.

EFC Website


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Innovative Farming and Ranching Systems Conference
"Farming and Ranching for Profit, Stewardship and Community" is the theme of a western region sustainable agriculture conference in Portland, March 7-9, 2000. The conference showcases innovative ways for producers to be profitable while they act as environmental stewards of their lands and help their rural communities thrive. The USDA Western Regional Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and several state universities sponsor the conference. It will highlight the methods and outcomes of diverse research and education projects funded by the SARE effort, including university-based, on-farm and producer-directed work. Program topics include irrigated and dryland cropping systems; grazing and livestock operations; marketing strategies, including eco-labeling; soil quality; tropical agriculture; biological pest control; and vegetable, tree fruit, wine grape and other crops.



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"Form Follows...An Exhibition..."
The Design Gallery, Department of Environmental Design, announces an exhibition of current work of some of the most interesting and exciting furniture designers in the Bay Area. "Form Follows...An Exhibition of Bay Area Contemporary Furniture" opens January 9, 2000, in the Design Gallery in Walker Hall. Each work showcased in the exhibition represents a unique vision, as each designer transformed an idea into beautiful and useful furniture. According to design lecturer Bob Morgan, co-curator of the show, viewers are presented an insight into the genesis and process that guides the designer's vision to its final form. An introductory lecture titled "Sitting on the Edge: Experimental Furniture in the 20th Century" will be held at 1 p.m. in Room 176 Everson Hall. Aaron Betsky, curator of architecture, design and digital projects at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, will speak. The lecture is $10 per person, free to Design Alliance members and to students with identification. The exhibition runs through February 4.

Rhonda R. O'Brien
Program Representative
Department of Environmental Design
rrobrien@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-6223

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Development Highlight
Victor M. Parchini gifted securities valued at over $67,000 in support of the Dennis G. Raveling Waterfowl Professorship endowment fund. This gift will be matched through an agreement with the California State Fish and Game Commission with funds from the Duck Stamp Program. The endowment's purpose is to insure a permanent funding source for the research, teaching and outreach activities necessary for the future health of wetlands and waterfowl, with emphasis on agricultural land in California.

Rick A. Swantz
Director of Development
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
raswantz@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-7961

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Scholarship: California Citrus
The California Citrus Mutual Scholarship Foundation is accepting applications for one $2,000 scholarship to students attending college. The student must major or minor in an agricultural-related field, and the family of the student must be a member of California Citrus Mutual. Financial need is not a consideration in selecting the recipient. Deadline: July 3, 2000


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Scholarship: California Seed Association
The California Seed Association is offering $1,000 scholarships to college students who either are enrolled or plan to enroll full-time in a field of agriculture related to the seed industry. Major fields of study include - but are not limited to - plant science, plant physiology, seed physiology, soil science, botany and agribusiness. Special interest in the seed industry is a plus. High school graduating seniors, undergraduate and graduate students are eligible. Funds will be made available to full-time students enrolled in a California college or university. Deadline: February 22, 2000



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RFP: Hansen Trust
The University of California - Hansen Trust is soliciting proposals for agricultural and natural resources research for fiscal year 2000. The Thelma Hansen Trust Fund was established in 1993 as an endowment to benefit and sustain agriculture and natural resources in Ventura County through research and education. The primary goal of the program is to enhance the viability of agriculture to sustain agriculture's contribution to a healthy Ventura County economy and community. Proposals may be submitted in areas of production, harvesting, marketing and areas focused on maintaining the profitability of Ventura County agriculture while sustaining the natural resource base. Priority funding will be given to projects that address issues of current concern to local growers. Deadline: March 15, 2000

Sheri Klittich
Program Administrator
Hansen Trust
srklittich@ucdavis.edu
(805) 525-9293, x205

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RFP: California Alfalfa Seed Production
The California Alfalfa Seed Production Research Board invites research project proposals for 2000. Problems affecting seed production include pest management, dodder control, short season management strategies and lygus biology; however, proposals are not limited to these priorities. Deadline: February 1, 2000



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Biotechnology Funding Opportunities
BioSTAR Matching Grants
Deadline: January 21, 2000

Interdisciplinary Research and Training Grants
Deadline: October 27, 2000

UC Biotech website


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Correction: Lee Baldwin Addresses FDA Meeting
Professor Lee Baldwin, Department of Animal Science, member of the National Academy of Science, was an invited presenter at the FDA public meeting on biotechnology held in Oakland in December. We regret that his name was omitted from the article appearing in the December 17, 1999, issue of CA&ES Currents. Our apologies!


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Visit CA&ES Currents online at http://caes.ucdavis.edu/NewsEvents/News/Currents/default.aspx. 

CA&ES Currents, the faculty/staff newsletter of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis, is distributed every other Friday. News deadline is noon Monday preceding Friday publication. Send inquiries to Ann Filmer, afilmer@ucdavis.edu.

Issue Editor:
Rhoda McKnight
(530) 752-9328
rjmcknight@ucdavis.edu

Contributors: Donna Gutierrez, Thomas Kaiser, Susan Kancir, Rhoda McKnight, Neal Van Alfen, John Weston. 

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