Names in the News

Carvalho de Souza Dias named UCCE agronomy and weed management advisor

Jose Carvalho de Souza Dias

José Luiz Carvalho de Souza Dias joined UCCE on Nov. 2, 2020, as an area agronomy and weed management advisor in Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin Counties. 

Prior to joining UCCE, Carvalho de Souza Dias was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where he worked with Mark Renz and John Grabber on projects focused on identification of management practices and environmental factors to ensure successful establishment of alfalfa interseeded into corn silage; sustainable management of waterhemp in established alfalfa for dairy systems; and weed control, clover selectivity and resulting yield of grass-clover mixed swards treated with florpyrauxifen-benzyl + 2,4-D in Wisconsin.

Carvalho de Souza Dias earned a Ph.D. in agronomy with focus in weed science from the University of Florida and an M.S. in crop protection and B.S. in agronomy from São Paulo State University in Brazil. He is fluent in Portugese.

His Ph.D. research focused on developing and implementing integrated management practices to reduce giant smutgrass populations in bahiagrass pastures. His M.S. research focused on investigating the selectivity of several residual herbicides applied preplanting of prebudded seedlings of different sugarcane cultivars.

Based in Merced, Carvalho de Souza Dias can be reached at (209) 385-7403 and jdias@ucanr.edu.

Klisch named YFC academic coordinator II

Shannon Klisch

Shannon Klisch has been promoted to youth, families and communities program academic coordinator II serving San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, effective Nov. 2, 2020.

Before assuming her current position, Klisch had been a community education supervisor since 2014 and led the expansion of 4-H programming across San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties through the UC Garden Nutrition Extender program and the 4-H Student Nutrition Advisory Council youth engagement program. Prior to joining UC ANR, Klisch worked as a private consultant with the Center for Family Strengthening.

She earned a Master of Public Health in community health education at San Jose State University and B.A. degrees in anthropology and communication from UC San Diego. She holds credentials as a master community health education specialist and community health education specialist.

Klisch is headquartered in San Luis Obispo and can be reached at (805) 781-5951 and sklisch@ucanr.edu.

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