The academic year is coming to a quick end with students preparing for final exams and commencement ceremonies on the horizon. The Robert Mondavi Institute closes out the term with two amazing sold-out events.
On Saturday, May 2nd, 2026, 83 students, faculty and staff from UC Davis gathered at the RMI Sensory building for the first Student Symposium on Food Justice. This gathering sought to unite students who are dedicated to a food system that nourishes both people and the planet and support our collective efforts to advance justice in our food system.
At the end of January, the Robert Mondavi Institute hosted Coffee Unfiltered: Thinking Outside the Cup, where coffee industry experts spoke to the coffee-curious about coffee’s origins, history and perception over the decades, and offered their predictions for the future. While pondering what could be next for coffee, what was clear above all was the deep connection coffee enthusiasts have with this beloved beverage, not only as a drink, but as a culture.
Our first two programs of the year have been successful and well-received, selling out quickly and drawing a full crowd to the Robert Mondavi Institute Sensory Theater.
On a crisp autumn morning in Davis, the scent of malt and hops drifted through the Anheuser-Busch InBev Pilot Brewery. Among the gleaming stainless steel, for the first time, all three UC Davis brewing professors stood side by side in the new brewery to celebrate a program that has shaped the modern beer world.
When winemakers press grapes, they're after the juice. But what happens to the skins, seeds, and stems that make up nearly 30% of the harvest?
At Terra Madre Americas in Sacramento in September 2025, two UC Davis researchers revealed how this "waste" is becoming the wine industry's next frontier of innovation.
As the new RMI Student Writer covering food science and RMI-related events, I had the opportunity to attend Terra Madre Americas, which was new to me. Having recently been passed the student writer baton by my now graduated food science mentor (thanks, Gwen!), I was excited at the prospect of attending and writing about Terra Madre Americas.
It has been a whirlwind since our last newsletter, with multiple sold-out events and news to share.
Last Saturday, we hosted our 12th Annual TASTE Food and Wine Tasting. It was a beautifully cool fall evening filled with camaraderie, great wine, delicious food and lively conversation. We are grateful to every guest who helped raise funds to support public scholarship, highlighting food and beverage innovation and research at UC Davis.
Back in high school, I had no doubt that college was the next step. However, the pressure of choosing a major was colossal! It felt like choosing the rest of my life when asked to select a major. I knew I wanted to do something creative, but I didn’t want to throw away all of my hard-earned A’s in physics, chemistry, and biology. After switching the major option about a hundred times, I finally registered under Undecided - Fine Arts for UC Davis.
For every juicy tomato or crunchy almond California grows, there’s a pile of pulp, hulls or scraps that often goes to waste. A new online tool, created by University of California, Davis researchers, tracks those agricultural byproducts aiming to find innovative ways to put them to use.
