Awards and Honors

Awards & Honors

We are excited to share some wonderful news from the world of viticulture and enology! Associate Professor and Chair, Ben Montpetit, has been appointed the Richard M. Kunde Chair in Viticulture and Enology (V & E), honoring a legendary alumnus and Sonoma County grape pioneer! This prestigious appointment is a testament to Richard’s decades of dedication, leadership, and groundbreaking contributions to the wine industry.

Congratulations to this year's Viticulture and Enology Scholarship Recipients

Congratulations to all students who received scholarships and awards this year. The Department is grateful to the generous donors who make these opportunities possible.  

The Domaine Carneros Le Rêve Scholarship Award 
Rachel Smith

David E. Gallo Educational Enhancement Award 
Victoria Lasch

Heck Memorial Scholarship
Nikita Kodjak
Chris Severt

International Wine and Food Science Award 
Fallon Ely

Marco Lab - Grand Prize Winner, Lab Safety Awards 2024!

A big congratulations to Dr. Maria Marco's lab for their Grand Prize win in the UC Safety Services 2024 Laboratory Safety Awards Program!  The Marco lab was the semi-finalist for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and won the grand prize against five other semi-finalists; one each from the College of Letters & Science, the College of Biological Sciences, the College of Engineering, the School of Veterinary Medicine and the School of Medicine.

Poll Zhang wins IIFH Undergrad Fellowship; presents at Summer Conference

Poll Zhang, an undergraduate in Dr. Alyson Mitchell's lab, presented in the 2024 Summer Undergraduate Research Center Symposium. Poll received an undergraduate fellowship from the Innovation Institute for Food and Health.  This was a six-week fellowship that resulted in her talk, titled “Almond Shells: An Innovative Solution for Winery Wastewater and Their Potential as a Health-Enhancing Food Supplement”, which you can see her presenting in the pictures below.