Faculty Director
Selina Wang, Ph.D.
Faculty Director, UC Davis Olive Center
Professor of Cooperative Extension in small scale fruit and vegetable processing
Vice Chair of the Department of Food Science and Technology
Selina Wang was appointed faculty director of the UC Davis Olive Center in January 2026. Wang, a chemist, is a professor of Cooperative Extension with the Department of Food Science and Technology and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from UC Santa Cruz and her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from UC Davis. Wang first joined the Olive Center as a postdoctoral researcher in 2010 and served as research director from 2011-2022, where she led the center’s research efforts in olive oil quality, purity and standardization, managed research collaborations and developed several extension courses. Her research focuses on food quality and safety, sustainable production, and fruit and vegetable processing. From 2009 to 2011, she led studies through the Olive Center testing imported and domestic extra virgin olive oils sold nationwide, work that helped establish state regulations and new testing methods. Her research excellence and leadership have been widely recognized, earning her numerous awards including the 2024 Timothy L. Mounts award by the American Oil Chemists’ Society, and the 2021 Faculty Stewardship Award from the UC Davis Foundation.