This award honors a graduate of UC Davis who has received his or her first degree within the past 10 years and has made outstanding contributions professionally, to the community or to UC Davis. Specific criteria used during the selection process include 1) contributions to profession, 2) UC Davis volunteerism and 3) community and public service.
The 2013 Young Alumnus Award recipient is John Bissell II '08.
John Bissell II of Sacramento is the
2013 Young Alumnus Award winner. This award honors someone who earned a
degree from UC Davis in the last 10 years, and has made outstanding
contributions professionally, to the community or to UC Davis. Bissell
is founder and CEO of Micromidas, which converts wastewater sludge into petrochemicals and plastics. In 2008, Bissell and a team
of UC Davis students entered this technology into the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency’s Annual P3 – People, Prosperity and the Planet –
design competition and won the $85,000 grand prize.
Bissell graduated in 2008 with a degree in chemical engineering. He’s
won several awards since, including the UC Davis Graduate School of
Management Business Plan Competition, Sacramento Area Regional
Technology Alliance’s VentureStart Program, and was named one of the
Sacramento Business Journal’s top “40 Under 40” in 2010.
Previous recipients:
2012 Jakob Suski '05
2011 Zeb Hogan, Ph.D. '04
2010 Marc Facciotti '97
2009 John Thomas "J.T." O'Sullivan '01
2008 Tracy Caldwell, Ph.D. '97
2007 Ernesto Sandoval '96
2005 Dawn Imamoto, Cred. '95
2004 Christina V. Kirk Kazhe '93
2003 Tamara Thornell '93
2002 Christine A. Smith '94, M.S. '96, M.B.A. '96, Ph.D. '97
2001 Paul Chapao Lo '91
2000 Jennifer L. Fearing '93
1999 Michael W. Dawson '92
1998 Elizabeth Nolan Fielding '88
1997 Daniel E. E. Hayes, Jr., Ph.D. '91
1996 Mark Stanley Ghilarducci '87
1995 Darryl Covington Hunter '84
1994 Melinda Guzman-Moore '85, J.D. '88
1993 Constance Chang-Hasnain '82
1992 Jeffrey L. Tanji, M.D. '82
1991 Kenneth W. Campbell, D.D.S. '79
1990 Cynthia M. Friend '77
1989 Balazs I. Bodai, M.D. '77
1988 Peter K. Thor '76, M.S. '77, Ph.D. '80
1987 Steven Mackey '78
1986 Sarah Joan Woerner '72, M.D. '76
1985 John Vickery '72
1984 Jackie Speier '72
1983 Peggy Sears McLaughlin '72, M.S. '74
1982 Gordon S. Baranco '69, J.D. '72
1981 Rolf J. Benirschke '77
1980 Dennis L. Vanderpol '69
1979 Michael L. Campbell '68