UC Davis Biological and Agricultural Engineering

05/28/2025

We are back with another Senior Design Spotlight! Biological Systems Engineering students Kellan Lam, Arianna Soberanis, and Natalie Bader are developing a specialized manual harvesting tool for yu choy, a popular Asian leafy green. The current method of harvesting involves manual labor where workers have to endure hours of crouching and are at risk of musculoskeletal injuries. The harvesting tool is designed to increase harvesting rates while decreasing workplace injuries. In the future, the tool could be modified for other Asian crops and expanded to more farming complexes.

05/20/2025

Check out what our seniors are up to! Senior Biological Systems Engineering students Aliya Abla, John Allbecker, Nikolas Chupkin, Kaya Guerrero, David Miller, and Thalia Miracle are developing a bioreactor system for producing polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a class of biodegradable plastics derived from renewable resources. Their project focuses on optimizing the fermentation of cheese manufacturing byproducts using the halophilic archaeon Haloferax mediterranei to convert organic waste into bioplastics. By improving aeration, mixing, and salt recovery processes, the team aims to increase PHA yield while reducing production costs and environmental impact, advancing sustainable alternatives to conventional, petroleum-based plastics.

04/25/2023

"A UC Davis team composed of master students Mia Gaiero and Truc Pham, together with their mentors, Dr. Juliana DeMoura Bell and Dr. Daniela Barile, was selected to participate in the in the AlgaePrize Competition Weekend Event hosted at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO on April 14–16, 2023.

Launched in January 2022, the AlgaePrize is a 16-month contest organized by the U.S. Department of Energy’s that encourages students to pursue innovative ideas for the development, design, and invention of technologies within the commercial algae value chain. Fast-growing and able to store energy from sunlight, algae can be transformed into a variety of products, such as fuel, food, fertilizer, industrial compounds, and animal feed.

The team, called “UC Davis Giant Kelp Team” was selected to participate in the competition along other 13 Finalist teams representing 35 states and 14 countries (from a pool of over 60 initial teams applicants) with their project titled “Kelping it Green: Innovative Analytical Tools for Eco-Friendly Giant Kelp Processing”.

Truc and Mia gave an excellent presentation and won the Best Poster Award as well as the title of Champion, earning a $10,000 check to be spent on algae-related work as well as the invitation to present at the upcoming Algae Biomass Summit that will be held Oct 9-11, 2023 in Madison, Wisconsin."

Caption provided by: https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/algaeprize-competition

12/08/2022

11/17/2022

Tonight is the UC Davis BAE Alumni Panel! 5 of our alumni will be attending to give an open panel discussion on their careers after graduating. Students should take advantage of this opportunity to interact with their peers in various industries to get a feel for what is possible for their own future!

11/08/2022

UC Davis Safety Service's Lab Safety Award award winner for the College of Engineering was our very own Jesus Dionisio Fernandez-Bayo! To read more about his lab visit the link below:
https://bae.ucdavis.edu/news/jesus-fernandez-bayos-lab-wins-uc-davis-lab-safety-award

10/11/2022

Professor Zhang's startup company, Optimized Food, was recently featured in a UC Davis article highlighting various startups originating from the university. Optimized Food is a company working towards making cultivated meat a reality, and improving health of all beings. Learn more about this startup and the others featured by reading the article!

https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/new-startups-built-uc-davis-innovations-drive-solutions-food-health-and-agriculture

(📸Gregory Urquiaga/UC Davis)

09/29/2022

Statement from Professor and Department Chair Fadi Fathallah:

I am sure you are aware of the tragic death of Mahsa Amini in Iran. Adding to this tragic loss, the continued brutal suppression of the multiple protests for women’s rights throughout the country has unfortunately led to the death of more than 100 people, mostly women.

To all our Iranian students, in particular, and all students in general, the leadership, faculty and staff in our department are here to provide you support during these difficult times as you deal with the ongoing situation in Iran, including limited communication and internet access. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Also, the campus leadership has released a statement yesterday lending their support to all affected: https://globalaffairs.ucdavis.edu/announcements/uc-davis-resources-and-support-our-community-impacted-unrest-iran. Please check out the list of available resources listed in that message, including the Student Health Counseling Service (https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/), for support and guidance.

We mourn the tragic death of Mahsa Amini and the many protesters and stand in solidarity with women’s rights in Iran and elsewhere in the world.

In support and hope for a better future,

Fadi

09/12/2022

The University of California, Davis, continues to stand among the nation’s top 10 public universities and now claims the No. 1 spot in biological and agricultural engineering in rankings by U.S. News & World Report. The 2022-23 edition of “Best Colleges,” released today (Sept. 11), has UC Davi...

06/01/2022

In our latest BAE Ambassador update, Heather gives us advice on how to manage coursework, clubs, jobs, and any other activities. "My best advice for how to balance multiple responsibilities is to get in a routine. Plan time in your day to work on certain assignments, and plan to have started assignments before office hours. This takes some trial and error, but finding out what time during the day you feel most motivated to get work done is a really great asset. Also, communicating with your professors when lots of assignments/exams are happening at the same time allows them to give you extensions or help you make a plan to turn in your best work."

05/25/2022

Today, we are spotlighting one of our alums, Nashea Awais. Take a look at where BAE has taken her since graduation.

Nashea Awais, 2019 B.S.
Research Associate | TeraPore Technologies, Inc.
Nashea is a research associate at TeraPore Technologies, a Bay Area start-up specializing in nanofiltration membrane technology located in South San Francisco, CA. In her free time, Nashea enjoys reading and learning to play the piano.