UC ANR funds 12 new projects to address high-priority issues in California

Return to UC Cooperative Extension | Agricultural Experiment Station

Elina Lastro Niño, UC Cooperative Extension specialist, tests a student in the California Master Beekeeper Program. Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey

How does the increased number of dead trees affect the timing and magnitude of wildfire? What would it take to get more Latino children engaged in science? Would volunteers be interested in teaching others how to preserve honey bee health? These are some of the questions that University of California scientists will try to answer through projects funded by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Twelve new projects are being funded by UC ANR's 2017 Competitive Grants Program and High Risk, High Rewards Program to address high-priority issues in California.

With 45 competitive grant proposals requesting over $7 million and six high-risk high-reward proposals requesting over another $500,000, the number of requests received exceeded the funding available.

“These projects truly demonstrate the forward-thinking nature of UC researchers,” said Glenda Humiston, UC vice president for agriculture and natural resources. “They're tackling problems and issues that strike at the heart of what matters to Californians. We're pleased to support and fund this critical work.”

The list of funded proposals is below and project summaries are posted on the 2017 funding opportunities web page at http://ucanr.edu/2017anrgrantsprojects.

Title	Principal investigator	Award amount
Pathways to Your Future: Destination UC	Shannon Horrillo	$200,000
Massive tree mortality in the Sierra Nevada: Consequences for forest health	Jodi Axelson	$200,000
Reducing nitrate leaching to the groundwater by accounting for the soils' capacity to supply N through mineralization	Daniel Geisseler	$199,978
Advancing urban irrigation management to enhance water-use efficiency	Amir Haghverdi	$199,975
The California Master Beekeeper Program: Development of a continuous train-the-trainer education effort for CA beekeepers	Elina Niño	$199,949
Silent straws: understanding water demands from woody encroachment in California's oak woodlands	Lenya Quinn-Davidson	$199,937
Impact of a warmer and drier future on rangeland ecosystems and ecosystem services	Jeremy James	$199,831
Closing the adaptive management loop for sustainable working rangelands	Leslie Roche	$199,502
Developing a culturally relevant civic science approach to improving scientific literacy for Latino youth	Steven Worker	$194,768
Creating cyst nematode suppressive soils by managing indigenous populations of the hyperparasitic fungus Dactylella oviparasitica	James Borneman	$100,000
Smart Farming: Monitoring the health of chickens	Maja Makagon	$81,293
Recruiting the next generation of extension professionals	Jennifer Heguy	$11,030