Zilberman elected AAAS fellow
David Zilberman, professor of the graduate school within the UC Berkeley Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, has been elected as a 2025 fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and the publisher of the Science family of journals. Fellows are nominated by their peers and elected by the AAAS council in recognition of their distinguished work advancing science or its applications in society. Zilberman, a member of the UC Berkeley faculty since 1979, was selected for “introducing novel economic models to answer fundamental questions in agricultural, environmental, and resource economics, as well as for informing public policy on these issues.”
Zilberman built one of the most wide-ranging research programs in agricultural and resource economics, with work spanning water policy, the economics of innovation, biotechnology, bioenergy, climate change, agricultural supply chains, and the bioeconomy. He has authored more than 400 peer-reviewed journal articles – in outlets including Science and Quarterly Journal of Economics – and has edited 30 books. His economic models have shaped major policy debates, including the development of water markets in California, pesticide regulation, and the adoption of agricultural biotechnology worldwide.
Read more about Zilberman’s career at https://are.berkeley.edu/news/david-zilberman-elected-fellow-american-association-advancement-science.
Khorsandi receives major ASABE award in ergonomics, safety and health
Farzaneh Khorsandi, associate professor of Cooperative Extension in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at UC Davis, has been named the 2026 recipient of the SMV Technologies Ergonomics, Safety and Health Award, a major recognition from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE).
The award recognizes outstanding contributions that advance agricultural and biological safety and health through research, innovation and leadership. Khorsandi was honored for her pioneering work in agricultural safety, advancing ATV and machinery safety through engineering solutions and AI-driven approaches to reduce workplace risks. Her research and extension programs focus on improving the safety of agricultural systems, including tractors, ATVs, and emerging technologies such as robotics and drones, while also addressing risk of heat-related illness among farmworkers.
The award will be presented at the ASABE annual meeting being held July 12–15 in Indianapolis.
Pena-Levano honored with Outstanding Young Researchers Award
Luis Pena-Levano, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in dairy cattle production, health and management economics in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, received the Outstanding Young Researchers Award by the Agricultural Economics Society at the 100th AES Conference at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom on March 24.
The recognition reflects early-career research achievement, academic leadership and international impact in agricultural economics.
Pena-Levano’s research examines topics such as sustainable dairy systems, animal health, automation, labor and resilience strategies to help dairy producers and agricultural stakeholders make stronger economic and management decisions in the face of changing production, labor, disease and environmental conditions.
His recent projects focus on dairy farm resilience, the economics of automation and labor substitution in dairy systems, avian flu impacts in dairy cattle, crossbreeding economics, and decision-making tools for small- and mid-sized dairy farms.
“I am grateful for this recognition and for the opportunity to contribute to agricultural economics through extension, research, teaching and collaboration,” Pena-Levano said.
The Agricultural Economics Society is one of the world’s leading associations of professional and academic agricultural economists. This distinction is one of the society’s Awards for Excellence and is regarded as the foremost global recognition for early-career scholars in this field.
Worker wins WEDA Award of Excellence in Extension Programming
Steven Worker, 4-H youth development advisor for Sonoma and Napa counties, will receive the 2026 Western Extension Directors Association Award of Excellence in Extension Programming Individual Award in June in Hawaii.
Worker created and implemented the San Francisco North Bay STEM Learning Ecosystem Initiative, a place-based strategy to expand equitable access for youth and families to high-quality out-of-school time science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning.
He has built an integrated STEM learning ecosystem that sparks community-wide curiosity through the North Bay Science Discovery Day, a free, interactive science festival. It deepens learning and identity through intensive career-connected experiences such as Tinker Academy and Ag from Above x Ag for All drone and geospatial education. It sustains access through durable cross-sector partnerships such as Imagine Science Sonoma-Napa with the Boys and Girls Clubs and the YMCA and through science-based, peer-reviewed educational resources and curricula.
North Bay Science Discovery Day attendance grew from approximately 1,000 attendees for the 2021 virtual event to nearly 12,000 people attending in person in 2025.
To evaluate Imagine Science Sonoma-Napa, Worker used a validated tool developed to assess informal STEM and enrichment outside of school. According to that metric, 70% improved STEM engagement, and 54% showed interest in a STEM career -- numbers that meet or exceed national comparison benchmarks. The cohort was 49% Latino/Hispanic and 35% multilingual, reinforcing that this sustaining partnership strengthens STEM attitudes and identity in communities historically underrepresented in STEM careers.
Worker will receive the award on June 23 at the Joint Western Directors Summer Meeting, which will be held at the Grand Naniloa Hotel in Hilo, Hawaii.
Mesgaran wins Award of Excellence in Agricultural Research Innovation
Mohsen Mesgaran, UC Davis professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, will receive the 2026 Award of Excellence in Agricultural Research Innovation - Mid Career.
Mesgaran works with international collaborators on multiple projects that advance early detection of high‑risk invasive species and agricultural pests.
To help manage branched broomrape, Mesgaran and collaborators deployed UAVs equipped with multispectral and hyperspectral cameras, handheld spectrometers and LiDAR to collect high‑resolution plant‑level data. They found that machine learning models – particularly Adaptive Boosting – accurately distinguished healthy from infested plants at pre‑symptomatic stages. Leaf‑level spectral signatures revealed clear physiological differences, enabling scalable early detection.
His work expands large‑scale, cost‑effective monitoring systems for weeds and invasive species. A deep learning platform using Google Street View imagery analyzed more than 270,000 images across 84,000 miles of roads in four western states, identifying over 2,000 Johnsongrass infestations at a fraction of the cost of traditional surveys.
Mesgaran and a UCCE specialist developed WeedChat, an AI chatbot trained on more than 500,000 web pages and 20,000 scientific papers, providing evidence‑based guidance on weed identification, biology, ecology and management
Mesgaran also leads the AI and data analytics components of a $20 million international project to develop a digital early detection, warning and alert system for red palm weevil in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Morocco. The system integrates satellite‑based detection, climate‑driven spread forecasting, and a centralized digital platform with chatbot interfaces to deliver real‑time alerts and decision‑support tools for farmers, extension agents and policymakers.
He will receive the award on June 23 at the Joint Western Directors Summer Meeting, which will be held at the Grand Naniloa Hotel in Hilo, Hawaii.
Swain receives California River Award
Friends of the River honored Daniel Swain, California Institute for Water Resources climate scientist, on April 24 for his influential work explaining extreme weather events and climate science to the public, the press and policymakers.
Swain is a distinguished science communicator, focused on extreme weather events – including droughts, floods, storms and wildfires – on a warming planet.
His Weather West blog provides unique insights into California weather and climate. He also delivers a steady stream of accurate and timely climate and weather information on video and social media channels.
“His work is foundational to the people of California for understanding how extreme precipitation events, drought, flood and fire will influence how we need to manage California water and rivers in the future,” the organization wrote in a news release. “He is a tireless advocate for the application of science to making people’s lives better in a changing climate.”
Each year the nonprofit statewide river conservation organization honors one extraordinary individual whose efforts recall the spirit of Mark Dubois, co-founder and director emeritus of Friends of the River. Dubois is well-known for his tireless commitment, courage, ability to empower others and his vision of the future for water and the environment.
In accepting the award, Swain said, “It is truly an honor to be receiving this year's California River Award. As a climate scientist working with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, as well as a few of the other hats that I wear as a public science communicator, it's deeply gratifying to know that my efforts are not only making it beyond the academic bubble, but also beyond the disciplinary silos of atmospheric science.”
Jolly to receive Bradford–Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award
The Agricultural Sustainability Institute (ASI) at UC Davis has announced that the 2026 Eric Bradford and Charlie Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award will be given to Desmond Jolly, UC Cooperative Extension economist emeritus and former director of the UC Statewide Small Farm Program.
This prestigious annual award will be presented to Jolly on May 11, at a ceremony featuring distinguished speaker Molly Anderson, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Food Studies emerita at Middlebury College in Vermont.
The Bradford-Rominger Award recognizes and honors individuals who exhibit the leadership, work ethic and integrity epitomized by the late Eric Bradford, a livestock geneticist who gave 50 years of service to UC Davis, and the late Charlie Rominger, a fifth-generation Yolo County farmer and land preservationist.
Jolly, who was raised on a farm in Jamaica, earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Oregon. After briefly teaching at the Federal City College in Washington, D.C., Jolly joined UC Davis in 1971 as a UC Cooperative Extension specialist in consumer and agricultural economics. His research focused on consumer economics, sustainable agriculture, specialty crops, and the intersection between agricultural science, technology, economics, and broad societal values.
In 1995, Jolly was appointed director of the UC Statewide Small Farm Program. Under his leadership, the program became a national leader and innovator in advocating and providing resources for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, including Latinx farmers, women farmers and Black farmers. He co-created UC ANR’s California Agritourism Program.
The award ceremony will be held from 4–7 p.m., on Monday, May 11, at the UC Davis Student Community Center Multipurpose Room. The event is free and open to the public. Register to attend at https://registration.ucdavis.edu/Item/Details/1394.
Read more about Jolly’s accomplishments in Andrea Thompson’s story.