Chemistry professor Jacquelyn Gervay-Hague has been named as one of the inaugural class of American Chemistry Society Fellows. The 162 fellows, including teachers, academics, industrial and government scientists and entrepreneurs, share “a common set of accomplishments, namely true excellence in their contributions to the chemical enterprise, coupled with distinctive service to ACS or to the broader world of chemistry,” according to the society.

Veterinary dermatologist Peter Ihrke recently received the Hill’s Excellence in Veterinary Healthcare Award from the World Small Animal Veterinary Association. Ihrke is a professor of dermatology in the School of Veterinary Medicine and chief of the dermatology service in UC Davis’ William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. The honor, sponsored annually by Hill’s pet food company, recognizes efforts to promote companion animal health care and the family-pet-veterinary bond, as well as leading-edge research.

Walter Leal, a professor of entomology known for his pioneering and innovative work in insect communication, was recently selected as a fellow of the Entomological Society of America. Leal’s work has helped to explain how insects detect host and nonhost plants, and how insect parasites detect their prey.

Dan Anderson, a professor of wildlife biology, recently was tapped for the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Pacific Seabird Group. The organization also selected UC Davis researcher Frank Gress for a Special Achievement Award. Both scientists have conducted extensive research on the California brown pelican, among other seabirds.

Pamela Tom, director of the Seafood Network Information Center, which is part of the Sea Grant Extension Program, received a Professional Achievement Award from the Chinese Association of Food Scientists. The award recognizes members for “outstanding contributions to the field of food science and engineering, related to teaching, research, extension, administration, or leadership in the food industry.”

Cruz Reynoso, law professor emeritus, has received the State Bar of California’s Bernard E. Witkin Medal to honor his “significant contributions to the quality of justice and legal scholarship” in the state. Established in 1993, the award honors “those legal giants who have altered the landscape of California jurisprudence.”

Noriko Satake, assistant professor of pediatric hematology and oncology at UC Davis Cancer Center, has been named a 2009 Hyundai Scholar and will receive $30,000 in funds to support her research into the characterization of leukemia stem cells in childhood leukemia.

Plant Pathology Professor Pamela Ronald was recently selected to receive a 2009 Science in Society Journalism Award, sponsored by the National Association of Science Writers, for her op-ed, “The New Organic,” which was published March 16, 2008, in the Boston Globe. The article argues that technological anxiety — not science — drives the opposition to genetic engineering.

Bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey, manager of UC Davis’ Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, has won the 2009 Outstanding Service to Beekeeping award from the Western Apicultural Society. Cobey teaches advanced beekeeping courses on queen-bee rearing and insemination.

Robert Szabo, UC Davis professor of orthopedic surgery and plastic surgery, was recently named the president-elect of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. He will serve as president until Oct. 9, 2010.

Five medical residents at UC Davis Health System — Shannon Clark, Claudia Krispel, Kamlesh Patel, Demetra Stamm and Aubrey Yao — are the initial recipients of the Sarah C. Armstrong Award for Compassionate Care. The award is intended to recognize residents and fellows who have demonstrated exemplary patience and compassion in the care of patients.

Bryan Jenkins, a professor of biological and agricultural engineering, was awarded the 2009 Johannes Linneborn Prize at the 17th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition in Hamburg, Germany. The prize was established to recognize outstanding contributions to the development of energy from biomass.

Jack D. Forbes has won a Lifetime Achievement award from the Native Writer’s Circle of the Americas. A professor emeritus of Native American studies and anthropology, Forbes helped found the Native American studies programs at UC Davis and D-Q University. He is a historian, poet, novelist, essayist, journalist and advocate for indigenous rights.

Jade Rosina McCutcheon, assistant professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance, has been selected to receive the Journal of Research Administration’s 2009 Rod Rose Award for an article on professional development in the fall 2008 issue of the Journal of Research Administration.

Two UC Davis faculty members are among 60 professors worldwide to receive Innovation Research Programs Awards from HP Labs. Associate professor of electrical and computer engineering John Owens is a first-time winner, while computer science professor Kwan-Liu Ma was granted a renewal of his 2008 award.

Xi Chen, an associate professor of chemistry, has been named a 2009 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. The award provides $75,000 to young faculty in the chemical sciences who have shown a commitment to education and outstanding scholarship.

Microbiologist Riccardo LoCascio has been chosen as one of 13 scientists to participate in the first class of Kauffman Postdoctoral Fellows. The yearlong program in entrepreneurship and mentorship is intended to help scientists commercialize their scientific discoveries.

Dirk Van Vuren, professor in the wildlife, fish and conservation biology department, was chosen as an associate editor for the Journal of Mammalogy, the top publication in that field.

Kent Bradford, academic director of UC Davis’ Seed Biotechnology Center and a professor of plant sciences, and Jamie Miller, center assistant director and a Discovery Fellow, have been awarded $30,000 from the American Society of Plant Biologists 2009 Grant Awards Program to strengthen the center’s public education efforts.

Bruce Gates, a distinguished professor of chemical engineering and materials science, has been awarded the 2009 Robert Burwell Lectureship in Catalysis from the North American Catalysis Society. The award is accompanied by an honorarium and financial support for Gates to visit any of the society’s 14 clubs throughout the world. The society cited Gates for his 40 years of significant contributions in three major areas of catalysis research, and commended him for mentoring over 130 students, postdocs and visiting scientists, as well as for educating “two generations of catalytic scientists and industrial practitioners.”

Chancellor emeritus Larry Vanderhoef has been named a fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists. The award is granted to members for their “direct service to the society and distinguished and long-term contributions to plant biology.” Vanderhoef received the award at the society’s annual ceremony in Honolulu on July 18.

Husein Ajwa, a Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, has been awarded a 2009 Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Ajwa, who works at the U.S. Department of Agriculture research facilities in Salinas, has conducted extensive research on iodomethane for the past eight years with other USDA and University of Florida researchers.

About UC Davis

For 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state capital, UC Davis has 31,000 students, an annual research budget that exceeds $500 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges -- Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science -- and advanced degrees from six professional schools -- Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.