Congratulations to Distinguished Professor, David E. Block! He was the recipient of the 2026 American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) Merit Award at the ASEV National Conference in Boise, ID, on June 17-18, 2026. This award recognizes “individuals who have contributed to the progress and advancement of enology or viticulture in an outstanding and distinguished manner for the Society and/or wine industry.” Dr. Block’s presentation at the conference, titled, "From Chemical Engineering to Agriculture: Lessons from an unexpected career advancing the California wine industry," had several important messages, including, "Ask Why?" with respect to planning research and “Just say Yes” to service.
Congratulations to Delaney Dyer, a MS student in the Montpetit Lab! She was awarded the Best Enology Flash Talk at the ASEV National Conference.
Congratulations to Brandt Bastow (from the Oberholster and Wang Labs)! He was awarded the Best Enology Poster Award.
ASEV scholarship winners were also announced, with Delaney Dyer receiving an ASEV traditional scholarship, and George Zhuang (Viticulture Farm Advisor, Fresno, and Ph.D. student at UC Riverside) receiving the ASEV President’s Award for Scholarship in Enology & Viticulture.
On July 1, 2026, Professor Emeritus Andrew Waterhouse received the Distinguished Service Award from the Society for Chemical Industry (SCI).
This award is given for exceptional service to the Society. Waterhouse has been an Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture since 2014, following Professor David Reid from the UC Davis Department of Food Science and Technology. He has also served on the Board of Trustees since 2022, helping to guide the Society.
More information: https://www.soci.org/awards/past-recipients/distinguished-service-award