ANR honors 13 academics with Distinguished Service Awards

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the 2015-16 recipients of the UC ANR Distinguished Service Awards, which are given biennially for outstanding contributions to the teaching, research and public service mission of the Division.

Awards were given in five categories:

• Outstanding Research – Diane Barrett, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Food Science & Technology at UC Davis, whose research program benefits both the California food processing industry as well as consumers of processed fruits and vegetables. 
• Outstanding Extension – Adina Merenlender, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley, who designed and developed the UC ANR California Naturalist Program to bring an awareness of land use issues to Californians.
• Outstanding New Academic – Brad Hanson, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis, whose research and extension program for weed management in woody perennial crops has gained recognition on state, national and international levels.
• Outstanding Leader – Peter Goodell, UC Cooperative Extension IPM advisor, Kearney Research and Agricultural Extension Center, whose  leadership throughout his 35-year career has contributed to the success of the UC Statewide IPM Program. He has led the IPM advisors, first as IPM advisor coordinator for 12 years, and more recently as associate director for Agricultural IPM. As interim director 2006 to 2009, Goodell provided consistency during a time of budgetary challenges and leadership vacuum, and was a leader in the Western Region IPM coordinators group, where he promoted greater state collaboration in IPM research and extension. He has been a thought leader in the application of techniques from the social sciences to the extension challenge of changing people's actions.
• Outstanding Team – the European Grapevine Moth Team:

o   Walter Bentley – UC Integrated Pest Management entomologist emeritus

o   Larry Bettiga, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Monterey County

o   Monica Cooper, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Napa County

o   Kent Daane, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley

o   Rhonda Smith, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Napa County

o   Joyce Strand, UC IPM academic coordinator emeritus

o   Robert Van Steenwyk,  UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley

o   Lucia Varela, UC Cooperative Extension area IPM advisor in the North Coast

o   Frank Zalom, UC Cooperative Extension specialist and professor in the Department of Entomology at UC Davis

The European Grapevine Moth Team coordinated a program that saved the wine and table grape industries from economic disaster caused by an invasive insect. The impact of the team's work has reduced quarantines for European grapevine moth from 10 counties in 2010 to a portion of one county at the end of 2015 and no moths have been trapped in the last remaining quarantine zone since 2013. If no European grapevine moths are trapped in this zone in 2016, the last remaining quarantine for the pest will be lifted.

The team is an excellent example of UC ANR working with government and industry partners under the Endemic and Invasive Pests and Diseases Strategic Initiative.

The DSA nominations were reviewed by the UC ANR Academic Assembly Council Program Committee, which sent its recommendations to me. The committee was chaired by Becky Westerdahl and included Keith Nathaniel, Susie Kocher and Jennifer Heguy.

The recipients will receive their awards at the Special Staff Meeting and Recognition Event on June 16 at the UC ANR building in Davis.

On behalf of UC ANR, I thank the DSA recipients for their excellent service to California. Please join me in congratulating them on this well-deserved recognition.

Glenda Humiston
Vice President

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