UC Davis Emeriti Video Dedicated to Dean Rao Unnava

Link to Video

"On average, these newest members of the UC Davis emeriti served our campus and the people of California for 26 years. Their ranks include colleagues who joined our faculty within the past decade, as well as others who devoted 43 or 44 years of their careers to UC Davis. Together, they have made our campus a richer academic ecosystem and helped create the environment in which a new generation of scholars will begin and develop their own academic careers. Retirement, of course, does not necessarily mean retiring from academic life. Many of our newest emeriti will remain active on campus, continuing their research, creative work, mentoring, and service."

So said video producer UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal of the Department of Molecular and Cellular in the opening of his newly released tribute video congratulating all UC Davis faculty who transitioned to emeriti during the 2025-26 academic year. 

Leal spotlighted 22 retirees,  including UC Davis Distinguished Professor Emeritus Steve Nadler of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, as representatives of the group. This is the fourth video in his series of annual emeriti tributes, and the one with the largest number of participants (22). His tribute videos date back to the 2021-22 academic year.

Leal also honored "two colleagues who passed away in 2026 before they had the opportunity to retire": 

• UC Davis Distinguished Professor Bruce Hammock (Aug. 13, 1947 to Jan. 5, 2026),  who held a joint appointment with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, and 
• Professor Mariel Vázquez  (February 24, 1971 to July 5, 2026), who held joint appointments with the Departments of Mathematics, and Microbiology and Molecular Genetics.

Leal dedicated the 2025-26 video to emeritus H. Rao Unnava, former dean of the Graduate School of Management, who with his wife, Vasu, adjunct associate professor at the Graduate School of Management,  were enroute to Tibet on Aug. 26 when catastrophic flash floods swept through the Nepal-China border region. They are among hundreds missing.

Rao Unnava served as the Michael and Joelle Hurlston Dean of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management for 10 years until his retirement in June. 

"Although our academic fields are quite distant, I had the opportunity to get to know Rao when we served together on the UC Davis International Strategic Planning Committee during the 2019 2020 academic year," said Leal, a former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology. "Rao had a remarkable habit of taking time to say thank you. He frequently sent me notes expressing his appreciation for my efforts to support and recognize the UC Davis faculty. Almost every time I release one of these tribute videos, an email from Rao would arrive. I would like to share one of the earliest for October 2022."

It read:  "Walter, thank you very much. This is a remarkable effort. Is this something new that you have done or is this done every year? If you start it this year, thank you. What a nice way to recognize our emeriti faculty."

"Rao, those words mean even more to me today," Leal said. "Kindness may seem like a small gesture, but it's never a small thing. We need people like Rao, people who note what others do, who take the time to express gratitude and who bring kindness to the life of those around them. We need them now more than ever."

Nematologist Steve Nadler

In his tribute to internationally recognized nematologist Steve Nadler, Leal praised his work as a teacher, researcher and administrator. 

"Professor Nadler earned his PhD in medical parasitology from Louisiana State University Medical Center and joined UC Davis as an associate professor in 1996," Leal related. "His research focuses on free living and parasitic nematodes as systems for investigating evolutionary hypotheses and biodiversity primarily through the application of molecular phylogenetics."

"At UC Davis, his teaching included courses in biology of parasitism, introduction to nematology and molecular phylogenetic analysis. Professor Nadler served as chair of the Department of Nematology (May 2005 to June 2011) and subsequently of the combined Department of Entomology and Nematology (January 2016 to June 2023), providing departmental leadership for a total of 14 years. His research involved collaborations with colleagues at numerous institutions and was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation. Professor Nadler served as president of the American Society of Nematologists and in 2013 received the society's highest research honor."

Leal celebrated the lives of Bruce Hammock and Mariel Vázquez with special tributes.

Bruce Hammock, 1947-2026

Bruce Hammock, an internationally renowned scientist who died at age 78,  is celebrated for co-discovering soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH)--an enzyme in the human body that breaks down regulatory fatty acids--and for his 50-year research on sEH inhibitors that led to therapeutic drug discoveries targeting such diseases as pain, eye and kidney disease, traumatic brain injury and stroke, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer's disease.

Leal described Hammock as "one of the UC Davis’ most accomplished and beloved scientists....born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1947,  Bruce earned his degree in entomology from Louisiana State University before beginning a lifelong association with the University of California. He joined UC Davis in 1980 and remained scientifically active until the final weeks of his life. Bruce was an instructor par excellence. He combined storytelling, humor, and the Socratic method to make science memorable, and generations of students could recall his lectures decades later. In recognition of his exceptional teaching, he received the UC Davis Distinguished Teaching Award in 2008."

"His scientific productivity was astonishing," Leal said. "Bruce authored more than 1,500 peer-reviewed publications and collaborated with more than 3,500 scholars around the world. His pioneering research ranged from environmental toxicology and immunochemical methods to the discovery and study of soluble epoxide hydrolase. That work opened new avenues for treating pain, inflammation, and neurodegenerative diseases. He also held approximately 95 patents."

"Bruce was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1999 and the National Academy of Inventors in 2015," Leal continued. "UC Davis recognized him with its highest Academic Senate research honor, and he became a Distinguished Professor in 2003. Yet despite these extraordinary accomplishments, Bruce remained remarkably humble and generous. His longtime colleague Jim Carey captured him in a single word: magnanimous."

"Bruce seemed to fit more into each day than most of us could imagine," Leal shared. "Beyond science, he made time for family and friends, kayaking, rock climbing, hiking, water balloon fights, and Fourth of July fireworks."

"Through his discoveries, teaching, mentorship, and generosity of spirit, Bruce touched thousands of lives. He left UC Davis stronger, the scientific world richer, and those fortunate enough to know him better for having shared in his remarkable journey."

UC Davis will celebrate the life and legacy of Bruce Hammock at 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10 in California Hall.

Mariel Vázquez, 1971-2026

Mariel Vázquez, an internationally recognized applied mathematician and beloved UC Davis professor, died at age 55.

"Born in Mexico in 1971, Mariel earned her undergraduate degree in mathematics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and her PhD from Florida State University," Leal recounted. "After positions at UC Berkeley and San Francisco State University, she joined UC Davis in 2014 as one of the first Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science (CAMPOS) scholars."

"Mariel was a remarkable interdisciplinary scientist. Her research brought together mathematics, molecular biology, and polymer physics, using topology and knot theory to understand the architecture and behavior of DNA. As colleagues noted, she did not simply apply mathematics to biology; she built a bridge between the two fields, allowing each to inspire and transform the other."

"Her scientific accomplishments were extraordinary. She received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the Blackwell-Tapia Prize, and fellowships in the Association for Women in Mathematics, the American Mathematical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science."

"But Mariel’s legacy extends far beyond her research," Leal shared. "She was a devoted teacher, mentor, and advocate for inclusion in science and mathematics. As director of CAMPOS, she worked to help faculty thrive, remove barriers for mothers in STEM, and create opportunities for scientists from diverse backgrounds. She believed that diversity brings better ideas."

"Her students and colleagues remember not only an exceptional scientist, but a generous and deeply caring mentor whose influence will live on in the people she taught, encouraged, and inspired."

UC Davis will celebrate her life on Oct. 27 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the International House. In keeping with her spirit of celebrating culture and diversity, attendees are invited to wear culturally significant attire rather than black.

A Blessing to Us All

"May the memories of Bruce and Mariel be a blessing to us all," Leal said. 

(Credits: Leal adapted the Hammock tribute from a memoir that he, Frank Zalom and Guodong Zhang had written. Leal adapted the Vázquez's tribute from a memoir written by Kate Washington.)