Faculty Honors

As leaders in their fields and internationally recognized for their vast expertise, College of Letters and Science faculty continually impress the world with the number of prestigious awards, fellowships and honors they receive. Their impact goes beyond the borders of UC Davis, resulting in inclusion in national academies, distinguished publications, world-renowned museums, performance halls and exhibitions. Still, they continue to support, educate and inspire the next generation of leaders, artists and thinkers, as evidenced by internal teaching and mentoring awards.

 

Smiling man wearing blue sweater and checked shirt, purple patterned background (photograph)

David E. Olson Among Finalists for the 2026 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists

Blavatnik Family Foundation

The Blavatnik Family Foundation and The New York Academy of Sciences today named 18 finalists for the 2026 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists. The awards recognize scientific advances made by researchers in the United States across the following disciplines: life sciences, chemical sciences, and physical sciences & engineering.
Woman with glasses smiling outside a modern art museum and sculpture while sunlight is filtered through structural beams, creating lines across the pavement.

Heghnar Watenpaugh on Preserving Cultural Heritage Worldwide

Maria Sestito

Professor Heghnar Watenpaugh discusses her experience teaching in Paris amidst controversy over museum staffing, security, ownership and restitution in France and the larger museum community. She will continue her own research at the Getty Museum this fall. 
Industrial metal pod sculpture split open, purple-lit cushioned interior on gallery floor

Beatriz Cortez Named 2026 Joan Mitchell Fellow

College of Letters and Science

Beatriz Cortez, a multidisciplinary artist and professor of Chicana/o/x studies at UC Davis, has been named a 2026 Joan Mitchell Fellow, which includes $60,000 in direct, unrestricted funding distributed over five years alongside learning, peer engagement and network-building opportunities.
Scattered pastel and clear decorative lightbulb ornaments on white background.

UC Davis Professor, Artist Speaks at Aspen Ideas Festival

College of Letters and Science

Beatriz Cortez, a multidisciplinary artist and professor of Chicana/o/x studies at UC Davis, recently spoke with UC Berkeley Professor Ronald Rael at Aspen Ideas Festival 2026. Their panel, Ancient Futures: from Mud to Machine, was moderated by Nora Lawrence, executive director of Storm King Art Center in New York.
Digital graphic of server racks with glowing blue AI circuit overlay

UC Davis Researchers Selected for Landmark DOE Genesis Mission Awards to Harness AI for Scientific Breakthroughs

Office of Research

Five researchers from the University of California, Davis, including two from the College of Letters and Science, were listed among recipients for the inaugural awards through the U.S. Department of Energy’s, or DOE, Genesis Mission — a national program leveraging artificial intelligence to accelerate breakthroughs in energy, discovery science and national security.
We see the gray-colored top of a building against a blue background.

Five Research Projects Receive Incentives for Large Grant Awards

UC Davis College of Letters and Science

From creating personalized maps of Alzheimer’s risk and designing next-generation cancer therapeutics to advancing AI-driven materials discovery and recovering nitrogen contaminants from water resources, the five projects that received this year’s Incentives for Large Grant Awards from the College of Letters and Science exemplify how UC Davis research is transforming science and society.
Steel patina, dark textured cabinet-like sculpture with circular panels on metal frame

Beatriz Cortez in Show Highlighting Contemporary Latinx Artists

College of Letters and Science

Artist Beatriz Cortez, professor of Chicana/o/x Studies, has work featured in "Aztlán: Tunel del Tiempo," an exhibition at the national galleries of the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes. The exhibition brings together a comprehensive installation of Latinx contemporary art from Los Angeles to Mexico City.