Golden State Today

Eight faculty members from the University of California, Davis, have been named as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). These individuals are part of a group of 471 scientists, engineers, and innovators elected this year. The announcement was made on March 27, 2025. The newly elected fellows are acknowledged for their significant contributions in various fields of science, including research, teaching, administration, and science communication.

The UC Davis faculty and their corresponding achievements include:

Professor Alexander Aue, Department of Statistics, College of Letters and Science, is honored "for distinguished contributions to the field of time series and change-point analysis, in particular for complex models, such as functional and high-dimensional data."

Professor Dario Cantù, Department of Viticulture and Enology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, is recognized "for distinguished contributions to our understanding of grapevine genetics and genomics, excellence in fostering applications of science for the advancement of society worldwide, and teaching excellence."

Frédéric Chédin, Professor and Chair, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Biological Sciences, is noted "for distinguished contributions to the fields of gene expression and genome instability, particularly for developing new genomics technologies and theoretical framework for mapping and understanding R-loop structures."

Professor Raissa D’Souza, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Associate Dean of Research, College of Engineering, is lauded "for seminal contributions to the physics of complex systems, including abrupt transitions, cascades, and network control, and for visionary leadership and service advancing the field of network science and academia."

Professor Simona Ghetti, Department of Psychology and Center for Mind and Brain, College of Letters and Science, is applauded "for distinguished contributions to the field of developmental cognitive neuroscience, particularly using behavioral and neuroimaging methods to understand the developmental trajectory of memory formation."

Professor Stephanie Hampton, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Director of the Tahoe Environmental Research Center, is honored "for distinguished contributions that have advanced environmental and aquatic science through interdisciplinary collaboration by enabling the infrastructure, open science, education, and training needed for large-scale inclusive environmental research."

Professor Dawn Sumner, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, College of Letters and Science, is celebrated "for distinguished contributions to carbonate sedimentology and exploration of complex interactions among environments and life through geological time."

Professor Huaijun Zhou, Department of Animal Science, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, is acknowledged "for distinguished scientific contributions to the field of animal genetics, especially advancing the understanding of regulatory elements in farm animal genomes and genetic regulation of important biological traits in poultry."

Founded in 1848, the AAAS is the largest general scientific society globally and is the publisher of Science and other journals. The society's mission is to "advance science and serve society" through activities in science policy, international programs, science education, and public engagement, among other initiatives.