The Celebration of the Life and Legacy of UC Davis Distinguished Professor Bruce Hammock, internationally renowned scientist and legendary faculty member of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, will take place at 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10 in California Hall, UC Davis campus.

It’s not often that a Nobel laureate visits a UC Davis undergraduate classroom, but this year, a biochemistry class in Kleiber Hall struck “gold”—twice.

Not one, but two Nobel laureates chronicled their scientific careers and answered questions during their virtual visits to UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal’s winter quarter class, “Structure and Function of Biomolecules.”

The legendary UC Davis Distinguished Professor Bruce Dupree Hammock (1947-2026), internationally recognized for his scientific research in chemistry, toxicology, biochemistry, entomology and human health, died Jan. 5, 2026 at age 78. A 45-year member of the UC Davis faculty, he was an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors, among other honors.

UC Davis alumna Lisa Baik, a former postdoctoral researcher at Yale University and described as a “brilliant scientist,” is the newest member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology  (ENT) faculty.

Baik joined the faculty this fall, accepting a position as assistant professor of insect biology. 

More than 1,218 members of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), including 61 Nobel laureates and 46 recipients of the National Medal of Science, have signed a letter urging Congress to reject the FY26 science budget cuts that threaten U.S. leadership in science, health, and national security. The letter was delivered on July 16, 2025. The link to the video is at https://youtu.be/Vkv0vI6jCnM.

Several Nobel Laureates and two dozen other scholars who participated in a July 1st UC Davis-based webinar offered "valuable insights into the urgent threats facing scientific research in the U.S., along with the broader consequences for public health, innovation, and global leadership," said UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal.

More than two dozen of the world’s top scientists, including four Nobel Laureates and several national organization presidents,  will participate in the UC Davis-based webinar,  “Beyond the Headlines: The Invisible Power of Academic Research” on Tuesday, July 1.

Nobel Laureate Randy Schekman, a Distinguished Professor in the UC Berkeley Department of Molecular and Cell Biology will keynote a UC Davis-based webinar,  “Beyond the Headlines: The Invisible Power of Academic Research” on Tuesday, July 1.

UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Soares Leal soared from a self-described “rough childhood” in his native Brazil to become an internationally recognized scientist celebrated for his research on chemical communication and olfaction in insects.

But in his early childhood, he disliked insects, especially the cockroaches that crawled into his mouth while he was sleeping, and mosquitoes that bit him when he was and wasn’t.

UC Davis scientists established a major presence at the 27th International Congress of Entomology (ICE2024), a weeklong conference in Kyoto, Japan that drew more than 4000 researchers from 82 countries. 

ICE2024, themed “New Discoveries Through Consilience,” included plenary lectures, symposia and posters, with science shared, science learned and friendships made.  ICE meets every four years in a different country.