UC Davis General Catalog, 2006-2008 - General Catalog - UC Davis

Introduction 25
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility
Medical Sciences 1D
(530) 752-7677; http://www.nmr.ucdavis.edu
The Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility provides access to stateof-the-art
NMR instrumentation for spectroscopy and imaging to
researchers in the biological, medical and physical sciences. At
present, the facility operates six spectrometers of varying purposes
and capabilities. Two horizontal magnet bore spectrometers are
used for imaging and in vivo spectroscopy of small animals and
materials. Two vertical bore spectrometers are used primarily for
solution studies of biomolecules, with an additional vertical bore
instrument for in vitro studies of perfused organs. One spectrometer
is used for spectroscopy of solids. All of the spectrometers are
multi-nuclear, and a large variety of high resolution, surface and
imaging coils are available for use. The facility also has workstations
for off-line data processing. Three full-time staff members are
available to assist campus researchers in utilizing the instrumentation.
Social Science Data Service
105 Social Sciences and Humanities Building
(530) 752-4009; http://www.ssds.ucdavis.edu
The Social Science Data Service (SSDS) is a unit of the Institute of
Governmental Affairs (IGA). SSDS provides consulting, computing
and specialized support services to faculty and graduate students
involved in quantitative social science research on the UC
Davis campus. SSDS staff provides consulting on a wide range of
software used by social scientists and assists with questions
regarding the use of SSDS computers, as well as statistical and
data-related programming. SSDS manages a UNIX system that provides
a platform for quantitative social science computing. Specialized
support is available for extramurally funded research projects
managed by IGA.
Student Farm
(530) 752-7645; studentfarm@ucdavis.edu; http://studentfarm.ucdavis.edu
The Student Farm offers students a wide range of educational and
research opportunities in sustainable agriculture through numerous
internship offerings, formal courses (e.g., in organic crop production,
sustainable agriculture and environmental education)
and research efforts. Opportunities include working in several
staff-supervised hands-on projects such as year-round production
and marketing of organic vegetables, on-farm composting, tractor
operations and environmental education tours for school children.
In addition, students may conduct field and greenhouse experiments
in various aspects of sustainable agriculture or other individual
projects. The farm is located on the west edge of the
campus core, near the Rec Pool, and is open to all students,
regardless of major or background.
UC Agricultural Issues Center
161 Hunt Hall
(530) 752-2320; agissues@ucdavis.edu; http://www.aic.ucdavis.edu
The UC Agricultural Issues Center is a university-wide research
and outreach unit that draws on expertise from many disciplines.
The center focuses on California's agricultural issues related to science
and technology, international trade and markets, agribusiness
trends, rural-urban issues, natural resources and the environment,
human resources and agricultural policy.
UC Davis Center for Plant Diversity (UC Davis
Herbarium)
1026 Sciences Laboratory Building, Department of Plant Sciences
(530) 752-1091;http://herbarium.ucdavis.edu
The UC Davis Center for Plant Diversity provides information on
the names, uses, toxicity and distribution of plants. Anyone can
visit the herbarium to use its dried plant collections (300,000
specimens), botanical library and microscopes, but a phone call is
suggested to make sure staff will be available to assist you. The
collections are used most commonly to check plant identifications,
but they are also used by campus faculty and students for teaching
and research in plant systematics and ecology. Herbarium staff
answer hundreds of public service requests each year (especially
identification of weeds and poisonous plants). Collections include
vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens and algae. The majority of
these specimens are angiosperms (flowering plants), mainly from
California, but the collections are worldwide in scope, with strong
holdings from North America, Ecuador, Baja California and
regions with Mediterranean climate regimes. The herbarium is
well known for its collection of weeds and poisonous plants,
although it also has world-class collections of grasses, oaks and
spurges. The Herbarium's support group, the Davis Botanical Society,
hosts a wide range of botanical events, workshops and trips
each year.
Veterinary Genetics Laboratory (VGL)
DNA Laboratory, Armstrong Tract
(530) 752-2211
The laboratory is recognized for its pioneering research on animal
blood groups and biochemical polymorphisms. Current research
activities include studies of genetics, genomic and forensic
research of domestic and wildlife animal species, including horses,
cattle, sheep, goats, camelids, dogs, cats, wild felids and canids,
bears, birds and primates. Activities include DNA genotyping and
mitochondria sequencing for applications in animal identification,
parentage verification, forensic analyses, population structure and
genetic diversity. Projects include, among others, mapping of phenotypic
traits, coat color and disease genes in horse, dogs and cats;
identification of causative mutations; development and validation
of microsatellite and single nucleotide polymorphism markers for
several species; development of robust diagnostic and genotyping
DNA tests; population and breed relationship studies through
allele frequency and mitochondria sequence analyses; the genetic
structure of wild populations; development of software for DNA
genotyping and implementation of electronic data interchange for
reporting of laboratory results. VGL is also involved in high profile
criminal cases both nationally and internationally through their
Forensic Unit.