August 2026

Yeasts in the UCDVEN and UCDFST collections are used in research labs at UC Davis, other universities, companies, and government agencies for basic science discoveries, and to develop new products such as food ingredients, chemicals, and consumer products. These yeast cultures in Erlenmeyer flasks are being grown in an incubator in the Boundy-Mills research lab to develop new food ingredients. Photo: Kyria Boundy-Mills

A Century of California Wine Yeast, Reunited

Food Science and Technology
UC Davis Awarded Funding to Merge the Viticulture & Enology Wine Microbe Collection with the Phaff Yeast Culture Collection

For more than sixty years, two of the most important libraries of California microbiology have lived in separate departments on the UC Davis campus. Now, thanks to a grant from the American Vineyard Foundation and Washington State Wine Commission, they're (re)uniting.

Head-and-shoulders portrait of an older smiling man with gray hair and mustache, wearing blue shirt

Remembering Walt Klenz

Viticulture and Enology
A champion of the wine industry and a longtime RMI supporter
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We are deeply saddened to share that Walter “Walt” Klenz passed away peacefully on July 20, 2026 at the age of 81. He was a champion of the wine industry and a longtime supporter of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science. Our thoughts are with his wife, Sylvia, and their family during this time.

Walt Klenz at a Klenz lecture in 2020

2025-26 UC Davis Food Science College Bowl team: Crystal Mai, Karina Miao, Elen Huang, Jesselyn Zhang, Angela Weber

UC Davis takes second place at 41st Annual IFT College Bowl

Food Science and Technology
What do cereal mascots and atomic absorption spectroscopy have in common? Both are fair game in the annual College Bowl Competition hosted by the Institute of Food Technologists Student Association, or IFTSA. Started in 1985, College Bowl is a team-based quiz competition about food science spanning universities throughout the United States and Canada.