Andy Fell
Daytona Beach
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Articles by Andy Fell
How UC Davis Strengthens the Forensic Science Workforce
Graduate Program Combines Research and Professional Training to Prepare Future Scientists When students talk about why they began their studies in the forensic science graduate program at the University of California, Davis, popular culture comes up a lot. For Brittany Huntington, now a forensic chemist with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, it was watching “The X-Files” as a child. Current student Sam Dicks was hooked by a nonfiction book about investigating homicides in Baltimore.
UCD: Non-rotating early galaxy surprises astronomers
That’s something only seen in the most massive, mature galaxies that are closer to us in space and time, said Ben Forrest, a research scientist in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UC Davis, and first author on the paper published May 4 in Nature Astronomy. “This one in particular did not show any evidence of rotation, which was surprising and very interesting,” Forrest said.
Non-Rotating Early Galaxy Is a Surprise to Astronomers
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have made a surprising discovery about a galaxy long, long ago and far, far away: It isn’t rotating. That’s something only seen in the most massive, mature galaxies that are closer to us in space and time, said Ben Forrest, a research scientist in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Davis, and first author on the paper published May 4 in Nature Astronomy.
Identifying genetic causes of blindness in people and macaques
(SACRAMENTO) An inherited form of blindness directly comparable to a common inherited optic nerve disease in humans has been discovered in rhesus macaques at the California National Primate Research Center at the University of California, Davis. The work, published April 15 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could lead to a better understanding of autosomal dominant optic atrophy, orADOA, and potentially to new treatments.
UC STEM Fest to inspire kids with science, engineering
Hundreds of local schoolchildren will get hands-on exposure to science, technology, engineering and math at the 2026 UC STEM Fest on Saturday, May 2, from 9 a.m. to noon at Rex & Margaret Fortune Early College High School in Elk Grove. More than 60 activities and exhibits are tailored to students from kindergarten through second grade, and from third through 12th grade.
UC STEM Fest to Inspire Kids with Science and Engineering
Hundreds of local schoolchildren will get hands-on exposure to science, technology, engineering and math at the 2026 UC STEM Fest, to be held Saturday, May 2 from 9 a.m. to noon at Rex & Margaret Fortune Early College High School in Elk Grove. More than 60 activities and exhibits are tailored to students from kindergarten through second grade, and from third through 12th grade.
Perovskite semiconductor lattices tuned by light
New types of semiconductor devices that respond to light could be possible using materials called perovskites, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis. The work, published in Advanced Materials, shows that halide perovskite crystals reversibly change shape when exposed to light. Perovskites are semiconductors, but with very distinct properties from conventional inorganic semiconductors such as silicon and gallium arsenide.
Light Bends Perovskite Crystal Lattice, Opening Way to New Devices
News A new UC Davis study shows that halide perovskite crystals reversibly change shape when hit with laser light. As perovskites are also semiconductors, this opens the possibility of new types of photoelectric devices. (Image of perovskite lattice from Getty Images) New types of semiconductor devices that respond to light could be possible using materials called perovskites, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis.
4 Elected as AAAS Fellows
Honors Mark 100 Years Since First Fellow From Davis Campus Four faculty from the University of California, Davis, have been elected as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, class of 2025. They are among nearly 500 scientists, engineers and other innovators that the society recognized this year for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements.
How hawks slip through tight gaps: A flight stability trick drones could copy
Graduate students Huanglun Zhu and Kiran Weston set up a 3D printed model of a hawk wing for testing in the UC Davis wind tunnel. Based on motion capture imaging at Oxford University, the wind tunnel model shows how a Harris's hawk changes aerodynamic stability as it flies through a gap. Research of this type can give insight into aerodynamics that could be applied to uncrewed aerial vehicles (drones). The new Center for Animal Flight and Innovation at UC Davis will expand these studies.
Hawk Study Shows Potential Lessons of Bird Flight
Birds have an ability to fly through obstacles by shifting their shape in flight, which is difficult to reproduce in uncrewed aerial vehicles, commonly known as UAVs or drones. A new study from researchers at the University of Oxford and the University of California, Davis, published March 4 in Journal of the Royal Society Interface, shows how researchers can begin to approach this challenge, leading to insights into how birds fly and to improved UAV designs.
Bird flight research advances drone technology and wild raptor care
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... An unassuming metal barn erected recently at the southern edge of the UC Davis campus houses some advanced video technology for a uniquely UC Davis project. Leveraging UC Davis’ historic strengths in veterinary medicine and engineering, the Center for Animal Flight and Innovation is the only facility of its kind in the United States and one of very few in the world capable of capturing images of birds in flight in exquisite detail.
Bird Flight Research Advances Drone Technology and Wild Raptor Care
New UC Davis Research Facility Unites Veterinary Medicine, Aerospace Engineering An unassuming metal barn erected recently at the southern edge of the University of California, Davis campus houses some advanced video technology for a uniquely UC Davis project.
UCD studies birds to build better drones
An unassuming metal barn erected recently at the southern edge of the UC Davis campus houses some advanced video technology for a uniquely UCD project. Leveraging UC Davis’ historic strengths in veterinary medicine and engineering, the Center for Animal Flight and Innovation is the only facility of its kind in the United States and one of very few in the world capable of capturing images of birds in flight in exquisite detail.
Mirror image pheromones help beetles 'swipe right' to find mates
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain There are many ways to communicate with prospective romantic partners. If you are a Japanese scarab beetle, it's a matter of distinguishing left from right. New work from U.S. and Chinese scientists, published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows how these beetles use mirror-image pheromones to find a mate. The work could lead to better monitoring and control of significant agricultural pests.
Mirror Image Pheromones Help Beetles Swipe Right
News Japanese scarab beetles (Popillia japonica) are a significant pest and strictly quarantined outside Japan. Female beetles attract mates with a mating hormone, japonilure, but males only respond to one mirror-image version of the molecule. Working with a related beetle found in southeast Asia, Anomala corpulenta, U.S. and Chinese researchers have now been able to identify the receptors that allow these insects to distinguish between mirror versions of their mating hormones.
Sloan Fellowship for Quantum Sciences Research
Isaac Kim, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, has been named as a 2026 Sloan Research Fellow by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Kim is among 126 newfellows announced today (Feb. 17). Fellows receive a two-year, $75,000 award to further their work. Kim’s research is in quantum entanglement, a necessary step to developing quantum computers and information systems.
The Role of Subjective Memory in Decision Making
Recent research reveals that people often rely on subjective memories—how vivid they feel—more than on the actual accuracy of those memories when making decisions. This study distinguishes between objective and subjective memory processes, highlighting their independent functions in the brain and their implications for how we evaluate memories in real-life situations. What tension exists between subjective and objective memory? How do subjective and objective memories function in the brain?
UCD biologists, engineers follow goopy clues to plant-wilting bacteria
Slippery, drippy goop makes Ralstonia bacteria devastating killers of plants, causing rapid wilting in tomato, potato and a wide range of other crops, according to new research. Ralstonia solanacearum can lurk in damp soils for years before infecting a plant, spreading rapidly through the water-carrying vessels (xylem). Infected plants wilt and die within days.
Tiny earthquakes reveal hidden faults under Northern California
By tracking swarms of very small earthquakes, seismologists are getting a new picture of the complex region where the San Andreas fault meets the Cascadia subduction zone, an area that could give rise to devastating major earthquakes. The work, by researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of California, Davis, and the University of Colorado Boulder, is published Jan. 15 in Science.
Tiny earthquakes reveal hidden faults under Northern California
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By tracking swarms of very small earthquakes, seismologists are getting a new picture of the complex region where the San Andreas fault meets the Cascadia subduction zone, an area that could give rise to devastating major earthquakes. The work, by researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey, UC Davis, and the University of Colorado Boulder, is published in Science on Jan. 15.
Tiny Earthquakes Reveal Hidden Faults Under Northern California
By tracking swarms of very small earthquakes, seismologists are getting a new picture of the complex region where the San Andreas fault meets the Cascadia subduction zone, an area that could give rise to devastating major earthquakes. The work, by researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of California, Davis, and the University of Colorado Boulder, is published Jan. 15 in Science.
Federal Budget Cut Halts Solar Heat Technology Project
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... A project to capture solar heat for industrial use — with potential spinoffs in other energy areas, including nuclear power — has been canceled by the U.S. Department of Energy on the cusp of its final phase.
Federal Budget Cut Halts Solar Heat Technology Project
A project to capture solar heat for industrial use — with potential spinoffs in other energy areas, including nuclear power — has been canceled by the U.S. Department of Energy on the cusp of its final phase.
New field of ecological medicine emphasizes health benefits of connectedness
“Everything you suspected was good for you -- fresh air, trees, animal companions, purpose, reciprocity — turns out to have peer-reviewed backing,” said Rebecca Calisi Rodríguez, associate professor of neurobiology, physiology and behavior and director of the Green Care Lab at the University of California, Davis. Ecological medicine also explicitly integrates Indigenous peoples’ understanding of how humans belong to and relate with the natural world.
UCD embraces ecological medicine
Ecological medicine is a new approach to health science that draws on a very old idea: connecting with each other, with animals and plants, and with the natural world fosters health and well-being for people and the planet.
New field of ecological medicine emphasizes benefits of connectedness
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Ecological medicine is a new approach to health science that draws on a very old idea: connecting with each other, with animals and plants, and with the natural world fosters health and well-being for people and the planet.
New Field of Ecological Medicine Emphasizes Health Benefits of Connectedness
Ecological medicine is a new approach to health science that draws on a very old idea: connecting with each other, with animals and plants, and with the natural world fosters health and well-being for people and the planet.
Looking Inside Icy Moons
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... The outer planets of the Solar System are swarmed by ice-wrapped moons. Some of these, such as Saturn’s moon Enceladus, are known to have oceans of liquid water between the ice shell and the rocky core and could be the best places in our solar system to look for extraterrestrial life. A new study published Nov.
Rocks on faults can heal following seismic movement
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Earthquake faults deep in the Earth can glue themselves back together following a seismic event, according to a new study led by researchers at the UC Davis. The work, published Nov. 19 in Science Advances and supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, adds a new factor to our understanding of the behavior of faults that can give rise to major earthquakes.
Why Is Federally Funded Research So Important?
America’s lucrative, long-running investment in basic science and research is under threat, and the consequences could be far-reaching for local and national economies and for the United States’ leadership in innovation and technology. For over 70 years, the U.S. government has supported fundamental research at universities.
Mechanical power by linking Earth’s warmth to space
Engineers at UC Davis have invented a device that can generate mechanical power at night by linking the natural warmth around us to the cold depths of space. The invention could be used, for example, to ventilate greenhouses or other buildings. The work is described Nov. 12 in Science Advances. The invention is a type of machine called a Stirling engine.
Stirling engine generates mechanical power by linking Earth's warmth to space Original
Engineers at the University of California, Davis, have invented a device that can generate mechanical power at night by linking the natural warmth around us to the cold depths of space. The invention could be used, for example, to ventilate greenhouses or other buildings. The work is described Nov. 12 in Science Advances. The invention is a type of machine called a Stirling engine.
Mechanical Power by Linking Earth’s Warmth to Space
Engineers at the University of California, Davis, have invented a device that can generate mechanical power at night by linking the natural warmth around us to the cold depths of space. The invention could be used, for example, to ventilate greenhouses or other buildings. The work is described Nov. 12 in Science Advances. The invention is a type of machine called a Stirling engine.
Looking inside icy moons
by Andy Fell Davis, CA (SPX) Nov 25, 2025 The outer planets of the Solar System are swarmed by ice-wrapped moons. Some of these, such as Saturn's moon Enceladus, are known to have oceans of liquid water between the ice shell and the rocky core and could be the best places in our solar system to look for extraterrestrial life. A new study published Nov.
Bezos Earth Fund grants $2M to UC Davis and American Heart Association
The Bezos Earth Fund has announced a $2 million grant to UC Davis, the American Heart Association and other partners to advance “Swap it Smart” as part of its AI for Climate & Nature Grand Challenge. The funding will support research that could help redesign foods, for example optimizing for flavor profile, nutritional properties and lower costs and environmental impact.
Bezos Earth Fund grants $2M to UCD, American Heart Association for AI research
Swap it Smart is an AI-powered recipe formulation tool in development by scientists at the UC Davis in collaboration with the Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI), an entity of RF Catalytic Capital co-managed by the American Heart Association and Alliance of Bioversity CIAT and developed by The Rockefeller Foundation. The PTFI provides standardized tools, data and training to map food quality of the world’s edible biodiversity for improved human and planetary health.
Yolo County education board seeks replacement trustee
During its regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 14, the Yolo County Board of Education announced a vacancy on its five-member board due to the resignation of board President Armando Salud-Ambriz, who represented Trustee Area 5 for the past three years. In an email to County Superintendent Garth Lewis on Oct. 7, Salud-Ambriz announced he had been appointed by the Nevada County Board of Supervisors to serve as Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters.
County education board seeks replacement trustee
During its regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 14, the Yolo County Board of Education announced a vacancy on its five-member board due to the resignation of board President Armando Salud-Ambriz, who represented Trustee Area 5 for the past three years. In an email to County Superintendent Garth Lewis on Oct. 7, Salud-Ambriz announced he had been appointed by the Nevada County Board of Supervisors to serve as Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters.
This Tiny Dark Object Could Rewrite the Universe’s Rules
The black ring and central dot show infrared image of a distant galaxy distorted by a gravitation lens. Orange/reg shows radio waves from the same object. The inset shows a pinch caused by another, much smaller, dark gravitational lens (white blob). Credit: Devon Powell, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics Astronomers have identified the universe’s lowest-mass dark object by observing its faint gravitational distortion of light.
A Stretchy Protein Senses Forces in Cells
How does skin hold you in? How do heart cells beat together? Researchers at the University of California, Davis, Department of Biomedical Engineering, are exploring how structures called desmosomes, which stick cells together, function and react to mechanical stress. New work from Professor Sanjeevi Sivasankar’s lab, published Oct. 10 in Nature Communications, shows how a desmosome protein can respond to mechanical stress and potentially send signals within the cell.
Astronomers Find Mystery Dark Object in Distant Universe
Using a global network of telescopes, astronomers have detected the lowest-mass dark object yet found in the universe. Finding more such objects and understanding their nature could rule out some theories about the nature of dark matter, the mystery substance that makes up about a quarter of the universe. The work is described in two papers published Oct. 9 in Nature Astronomy and Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Prescribed Burn on West Campus Oct. 17
The UC Davis Fire Department plans to carry out a prescribed burn on campus reserve land west of County Road 98 on Friday, Oct. 17. The burn is being coordinated with area fire departments and is being conducted to restore native grasses, remove invasive species and reduce fire risk. There may be some smoke in the area as a result. The burn may be cancelled if weather conditions change.
UC Malaria Initiative Expands Acivities to Equatorial Guinea
The University of California Malaria Initiative, which includes researchers at UC Davis, will partner in the Republic of Equatorial Guinea’s Vision 2030 strategy to eliminate malaria from the Central African country. The plan, which also includes Oxford University, Tsinghua University and a MCD Global Health, was announced Sept. 24 during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Vision 2030 builds on 20 years of experience in malaria control on Bioko island, Equatorial Guinea.
Federal Grants Support Research on AI-driven Protein Design
Two projects at the University of California, Davis, that use artificial intelligence to design and engineer proteins for industrial and health applications have been funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). The grants are part of a $32 million investment in AI and protein engineering announced Aug. 7 by the NSF Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP).
UCD: Total-body PET imaging looks at long COVID
Using total-body PET imaging to get a better understanding of long COVID disease is the goal of a new project at UC Davis in collaboration with UC San Francisco. The project is funded by a grant of $3.2 million over four years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. About 1 in 10 COVID-19 survivors develop a range of long COVID symptoms that can last from months to years.
Regional EMT Training at Giedt Hall Sept. 15
The UC Davis Fire Department will host a training event for regional EMS students on Monday (Sept. 15). Activities will take place all day in and outside Giedt Hall. One or two ambulances will be stationed nearby and there may be role-players with simulated injuries outside. The approximately 60 participants are EMS and paramedic students from the UC Davis EMS Educational Program and from EMT programs in Sacramento, Glenn and Butte, and Contra Costa counties.
Sunglasses for sustainable agriculture: Multilayer film reflects heat but lets in light for plant growth
A multilayer film that reflects heat while letting through light needed for photosynthesis could make greenhouse agriculture more energy- and water-efficient. Such a film has been developed by engineers at the University of California, Davis, and is described in a paper in Advanced Energy & Sustainability Research. Greenhouses enable higher yields of fruits and vegetables while conserving land, water, and fertilizers.
Sunglasses for Plants, and Sustainable Agriculture
A multilayer film that reflects heat while letting through light needed for photosynthesis could make greenhouse agriculture more energy- and water-efficient. Such a film has been developed by engineers at the University of California, Davis, and is described in a recent paper in Advanced Energy & Sustainability Research. Greenhouses enable higher yields of fruits and vegetables while conserving land,water, and fertilizers.
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