- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
UC ANR team receives Excellence in Extension Evaluation Training Team Award
UC ANR's evaluation team received the Excellence in Extension Evaluation Training Team Award from the Extension Education Evaluation Topical Interest Group at the October 2024 American Evaluation Association Conference.
The team included Kit Alviz, Christina Becker, Jen Sedell and Katherine Webb-Martinez from Program Planning and Evaluation; Vikram Koundinya, UCCE evaluation specialist; Roshan Nayak, former UC 4-H evaluation coordinator; and David White in the Office of Diversity & Inclusion. This interdisciplinary team represents various units and position types, spanning administration and academics, which helps foster evaluative thinking and ensure consistency in definitions and expectations across the organization.
The award recognizes how their distinct trainings in the UCCE Program Development and Evaluation Capacity Building Training Series has grown from three in 2017 to 11 in 2024, delivering over 60 statewide evaluation trainings to more than 1,000 attendees.
They also provide one-on-one technical assistance with UCCE individuals, program teams, and statewide programs and institutes. Their approach focuses on practical approaches to evaluation for academics and program staff working in the field, integrating lecture with activities.
The team also furthers extension evaluation and capacity building outside of UCCE. For example, they have provided trainings with the national Extension Foundation, Washington State University Extension, Western Extension Leadership Development, and Oregon State University, as well as research papers. The UCCE Program Evaluation web pages share extension-relevant resources andUCCE examples.
Rao wins CalCAN researcher leadership award
This award recognizes Rao's leadership and contributions to climate and agriculture science, policy and practice. Her applied research at the nexus of livestock grazing, wildfire and climate change has filled critical research gaps, fostered regional collaborations like the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association, and influenced local and state climate policies. Rao joined CalCAN's Science Advisory Council in 2019 and provides expertise on legislation to advance prescribed grazing and prescribed fire. She has collaborated on studies on grazing to reduce wildfire fuels, created a website for oak research and led the development of prescribed burn associations.
This award is given to individuals who have collaborated with CalCAN on advancing sustainable agriculture and climate policy, and who demonstrate leadership and innovation on climate change related policy and practices.
Rao received the award at the Climate & Agriculture Summit at UC Davis on Oct. 30.
SJV Winegrowers Association to honor Williams' career Nov. 8
Williams is well-recognized by the grape industry for his remarkable work in irrigation and fertilizer management as a professor and plant physiologist in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis. Stationed at the Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in the San Joaquin Valley – the nation's epicenter of raisin, wine and table grape production – Williams helped growers determine nitrogen and potassium needs for all grape types and application timing.
His research guided wine grape growers in refining their deficit irrigation practices for improved wine quality and helped raisin and table grape growers understand the vines' water needs to maximize berry size and production.
"Professor Williams is best known for developing irrigation models for raisin, table and wine grapes. His pioneering work in the field has been verified and accepted around the world and underpinned ongoing technological developments that are making it easier than ever for growers to save water while optimizing yield and quality,” said Matthew Fidelibus, UCCE viticulture specialist and San Joaquin Valley Winegrowers Association viticultural advisor.
Over the course of his 36-year career, Williams has published over a hundred papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, co-authored several books, and delivered hundreds of talks on these subjects, proving a valuable asset to both viticultural research and extension.
Williams retired in 2018, but his work continues to bear much fruit.
“Growing grapes is difficult enough, but thanks to Professor Williams, we have been able to increase our quality and consistency with better technology,” commented Aarin Wilson, president of the San Joaquin Valley Winegrowers Association.
“Larry Williams has played an oversized role in educating growers around the Valley (and world), and the Association is very proud to add his name to the august group of recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Peter Vallis, executive director of the San Joaquin Valley Winegrowers Association.
Previous recipients of this award include Kent Daane and Nat DiBuduo (2023), Deborah Golino and Andy Walker (2022), Jim Unti (2021), John Monnich (2020), Ron Brase (2019), Robert Markarian (2018), Walt Bentley, Doug Gubler & Ken Yonan (2016), Frank Saviez and Don Stanley (2015), Jim Duarte and George Leavitt (2014),Jack Farrior and Marko Zaninovich (2013), Pete Christensen, Ron Metzler and Gary Wilson (2012), Paul Dismukes and Luther Khachigian (2011), Frank Logoluso, Bob Loquaci and Frank Pantaleo (2010), Bob McInturf, Mike Nury and Vince Petrucci (2009), and Angelo Papagni (2007).
Vallis will present this special award to Williams at 12:30 p.m. in the Industrial Education Building at the Big Fresno Fairgrounds during Malcolm Media's Grape, Nut & Tree Fruit Expo on Nov. 8. The Expo runs from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is free to attend. The presentation will be accompanied with a tri-tip BBQ lunch and morning grower seminars offer continuing education credits. Growers and friends are welcome to arrive early and enjoy the full event. For more information, visit https://agexpo.biz.
UC Berkeley receives $13 million to advance seaweed use
The UC Berkeley Energy & Biosciences Institute (EBI) has received nearly $13 million to establish a center aimed at advancing the use of seaweed in the global supply chain.
Named the International Bioeconomy Macroalgae Center (IBMC) at UC Berkeley, the Center will address the need for foundational knowledge, technological approaches, supply chain designs, policy frameworks, community engagement, and educational materials for businesses and consumers to build sustainable macroalgal-based bioeconomies.
The IBMC will launch officially in January 2025. John Coates, EBI director and a professor in the Department of Plant & Microbial Biology will co-lead the center with David Zilberman, a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Alexandra Hill, an assistant professor of Cooperative Extension in ARE, and Dan Okamoto, an assistant professor in the Department of Integrative Biology.
An overarching theme of the IBMC is stakeholder engagement and workforce education and training. This aspect will be led by Hill, who brings extensive workforce development experience, particularly in U.S. agriculture, and community outreach and engagement, working with U.S. farmers and ranchers, government representatives, farmworkers, environmental, and agricultural industry advocacy organizations.
Hill will oversee stakeholder engagement, outreach and workforce education and training. She will take the lead on organizing annual workshops, designing the center's website, assembling the advisory board and working groups, compile outreach and educational materials, and coordinating site and field visits for scientists, students and stakeholders.
The funding was announced by the National Science Foundation and partner agencies in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Finland, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United Kingdom as a part of the Global Centers competition. The program is awarding nearly $82 million to fund six centers that will advance the bioeconomy to solve global challenges.
Other Global Centers will focus on innovative recycling and waste management, increasing crop resilience and water use efficiency, approaches for using waste biomass for bioplastics, and paving the way for biofoundries to scale-up applications of biotechnology for societal benefit. All centers will integrate education and social sciences, public engagement and workforce development, paying close attention to impacts on communities.
In addition to the nearly $5 million grant from the NSF, IBMC will be supported by three partner countries, with additional commitments from the United Kingdom, Canada's Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council; and the ROK Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea.
Culumber student wins national FFA agriscience award
A Hanford High School student being mentored by Mae Culumber has won the Reserve National FFA Agriscience Fair Champion award.
In 2023, Culumber, UCCE nut crops advisor for Fresno and Kings counties, began working with Hanford High student Ayden Coelho on a project investigating the effects of whole orchard recycling on soil biodiversity and soil health.
Hanford High School science teacher Jason Ferreria has been integrating the FFA agriscience fair into his curriculum for the last few years. To facilitate the design and implementation of small science projects for his students, he requests the help of UC Cooperative Extension advisors and researchers from other institutions and within the agricultural industry. The students compete on a local, regional, state and national level.
Through this project, Ayden learned the basics of the scientific method, field experimental design, sample collection and data processing. Ayden used a rapid test kit MicroBIOMETER and a phone app to determine the fungal and bacterial microbial biomass within the soil when treated with either wood chips or an untreated control. He also looked at total nitrogen in the soil to understand how the soil nutrients respond to the treatment.
The MicroBIOMETER is an innovative tool that provides rapid, accurate results, which can be used in the field by researchers, students and farmers to assess soil health impacts from farming practices. Ayden's results showed a higher abundance of fungal microbes and higher total nitrogen in the soil treated with wood chips, results indicative of improved soil quality conditions over time. Ayden went all the way to the National FFA Agriscience Fair Championship in Washington D.C. last week, winning the Reserve National FFA Agriscience Fair Champion award in the division of Environmental Services and Natural Resources.
The high school junior told FFA that he plans to expand his project.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
What else deserves kudos? Share your good news by emailing to contentpipeline@ucanr.edu.
Webb-Martinez honored for evaluation 
Katherine Webb-Martinez, director of Program Planning and Evaluation, received an award on Oct. 13 from the Extension Education Evaluation Topical Interest Group at the American Evaluation Association's conference held in Indianapolis.
The Mary Nell Greenwood Extension Evaluation award was given to Webb-Martinez in recognition of her administrative leadership toward outstanding organizational, policy and resource contributions to extension evaluation.
The following are excerpts from letters supporting her award nomination:
“Today, ANR is a national leader in outcomes assessment and reporting. The single person most responsible for the dramatic turnaround is Katherine. When others despaired of finding solutions, she dug into the problem and slowly began to change the organization's culture, practices, and capacity.”
“For extension professionals such as myself who aren't classically trained in extension program evaluation, her efforts in building the evaluation capacity of UC ANR academics and program staff have helped us tell our stories and successfully meet the merit and promotion criteria.”
“You often hear about Extension being the best kept secret. At UC ANR, Katherine's leadership has helped change this narrative both at the state and local county level.”
“Her work in evaluation, reporting and program planning is highly sought after by Extension directors in other Western Region states. Her work in leading a team to produce high-quality public- and stakeholder-facing reports of UCCE's successes demonstrates far more than the ability to gather and synthesize information.”
Bullard, Vales, Miner win 4-H awards 
UC ANR 4-H's Vera M. Bullard, Brenda Vales and Gemma Miner received awards at the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals annual conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Oct. 12.
Bullard, regional 4-H program coordinator for the Central Sierra, was presented the National Distinguished Service Award for California. The award recognizes the achievements of members who have served more than seven years in Extension 4-H Youth Development programs. She is passionate about civic engagement, public speaking, inclusion, accessibility and volunteer development. She currently chairs the Statewide Public Speaking and Communications Advisory Committee and serves on the Civic Engagement Advisory Committee.
“She's an amazing staff member, very dedicated to the 4-H program,” said Sue Mosbacher, UC Master Food Preserver Program coordinator. “In addition to her role in 4-H, Vera is also a Master Food Preserver volunteer and coordinates the online basics classes for the Amador/Calaveras program.”
Brenda Vales, 4-H community education specialist for Contra Costa County, received the Achievement in Service Award, which recognizes the achievements of members who have served between three and seven years. Vales has supported the local and statewide 4-H program for six years, specializing in finance, record keeping and presentations. She uses her experience to foster life skills in 4-H youth.
Gemma Miner, 4-H academic coordinator for volunteer engagement, was part of a Western Region team that received both a state and national award in the Excellence in Peer Professional Development Specialty Award Division.
Each year, the California 4-H Association selects members to receive awards at the national conference hosted by the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals.
Zhuang named one of Fruit + Vegetable's 40 Under 40 
The Fruit + Vegetable 40 Under 40 Awards honor 40 outstanding individuals making their marks in the industry. George Zhuang, UC Cooperative Extension viticulture farm advisor in Fresno County has been selected for the class of 2023. Fruit Growers News and Vegetable Growers News annually choose 40 individuals working in the fruit and vegetable industry who they deem to be the next generation of leaders.
Zhuang started working as a UCCE viticulture farm advisor for Fresno County in January 2015. As a viticulture advisor, he conducts applied research on rootstock selection, vineyard water management, mechanization and disease management, as well as updates growers on university research results and current vineyard management issues. He holds a master's degree in horticulture science from Michigan State University and a bachelor s degree in viticulture and enology from China Agricultural University.
See the other 39 people chosen at https://fruitgrowersnews.com/40under40/?oly_enc_id=.
TIME lists Luna UCR avocado among top 'groundbreaking' inventions
Luna UCR avocado is one of TIME's "200 'groundbreaking' inventions. The list, which debuted this year, includes inventions that “are changing how we live, work, play and think about what's possible,” TIME wrote.
The variety is the result of a University of California avocado tree breeding program that started at UCLA just over 80 years ago, was transferred to UCR in the 1950s, and continues today. The patent will credit as inventors Mary Lu Arpaia, a UC Cooperative Extension horticulturist based at UC Riverside, and her colleague Eric Focht, a UCR staff research associate in the Botany and Plant Sciences Department in the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. Other credited co-inventors are former UCR scientists Gray Martin, the late David Stottlemyer, and the late B.O. “Bob” Bergh, according to a story by UCR's David Danelski.
Read more about Luna UCR avocado's development at New avocado proves tasty, safer to harvest at UC ANR Research and Extension Centers.
Brinkley wins California American Planning Association Award of Excellence
Catherine Brinkley, UC Davis professor and Center for Regional Change director, and her team received the California American Planning Association award for academic excellence for Plansearch.caes.ucdavis.edu: A Search Engine for California's General Plans.
Want to know what the 482 cities and 58 counties in California are planning to build? Check out the award-winning search engine to find general plans for California cities and counties.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
UCCE advisors, UCCE specialists and academics coordinators are invited to attend a training workshop on conducting a needs assessment.
Vikram Koundinya, UCCE evaluation specialist in the Department of Human Ecology (Community and Regional Development) at UC Davis; Chris Greer, IPM area advisor in UCCE San Luis Obispo County; and Katherine Webb-Martinez, associate director of UC ANR Program Planning and Evaluation are hosting training workshops in two locations – Davis and Parlier.
Friday, Sept. 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the UC ANR Building, 2801 Second Street, Davis
Featuring roundtable discussion sharing UCCE examples with
- Betsy Karle, area dairy advisor & county director, Glenn County
- Susie Kocher, forestry/natural resources advisor, Central Sierra and El Dorado counties
- Steven Worker, 4-H youth development advisor, Marin, Sonoma and Napa counties
Friday, Sept. 14, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, 9240 South Riverbend Ave., Parlier
Featuring roundtable discussion sharing UCCE examples with
- Ramiro Lobo, small farms and agricultural economics advisor, San Diego County
- Fadzayi Mashiri, livestock and natural resources advisor, Mariposa and Merced counties
- Deepa Srivastava, nutrition, family and consumer sciences advisor, Tulare and Kings counties
The interactive training will help answer questions such as: What exactly is expected for a needs assessment? What is the benefit? When should I do this? How often should I do this? How do I use the information to design my program?
It will include basic, practical how-to steps, approaches, methods and how to write clear and concise questions.
Participants will engage in a roundtable discussion with UCCE advisors, who will share their needs assessment experiences and lessons learned.
Participants will gain...
- understanding of position description needs-assessment expectation
- understanding of the what, how, when of needs assessments
- understanding of and practice writing good questions
- awareness of UC ANR needs assessment examples and resources
- a draft needs assessment plan
Register at https://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=25314.
For more information, contact Katherine Webb-Martinez, Katherine.webb-martinez@ucop.edu, (510) 987-0029.
