Fifteen graduate students and postdoctoral scholars from the University of California, Davis, have been named the 2020-2021 fellows in the Professors for the Future (PFTF) program.

Established in 1992, Professors for the Future is a year-long competitive fellowship program designed to develop the leadership skills of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who have demonstrated their commitment to professionalism, integrity, and academic service.

The program focuses on the future challenges of graduate education, postdoctoral training, and the academy. Professors for the Future is designed to prepare UC Davis doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars for an increasingly competitive marketplace and a rapidly changing university environment.

The 2020-2021 Professors for the Future fellows are:

• Charlotte Ambrozek  (Ph.D. student, Agricultural and Resource Economics)
• Abbey Berghaus (Ph.D. student, Sociology)
• Victoria Farrar (Ph.D. student, Animal Behavior)
• Jason Fell (Postdoctoral scholar, Genome Center)
• Keith Fraga (Ph.D student, Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology)
• Sommer L. Johansen (Ph.D. student, Chemistry)
• Jianping Pan (Ph.D. student, Mathematics)
• Lyndsey Ruiz (Ph.D. student, Nutritional Biology)
• Salini Sasidharan (Postdoctoral scholar, Land, Air, and Water Resources)
• Roy B. Taggueg Jr. "RJ" (Ph.D. student, Sociology)
• Kira Tiedge (Postdoctoral scholar, Plant Biology)
• Peter Joseph Torres (Ph.D. student, Linguistics)
• Olivia Winokur (Ph.D. student, Entomology)
• Lynea Witczak (Ph.D. student, Psychology)
• Jiyoon Yi (Ph.D. student, Food Science)

In addition to receiving a $3,000 stipend, the PFTF fellows will have the opportunity to work on projects of their own design to enhance the graduate or postdoctoral experience and professional development of their colleagues. The projects will be presented at an end-of-year event, open to all interested members of the university.

The fellows will meet on a regular basis for roundtable panel discussions designed to enhance their professional development, intellectual growth and leadership skills.

For more information about PFTF, visit the Professors for the Future page.