These are the hard-working researchers, agronomists, economists that continually keep the UC Davis Olive Center as the gold standard for olive research.
Javier Fernandez Salvador, Ph.D.
Executive Director, UC Davis Olive Center
(530) 752-5170
jfernandezsalvador@ucdavis.edu
Dr. Javier Fernandez Salvador is the director of the UC Davis Olive Center, overseeing the production and management of the UC Davis Olive products and the Center’s research, education, and outreach strategy. He served as an Assistant Professor in the extension service of Oregon State University (OSU) where he led a multi-disciplinary team evaluating olive production in colder latitudes. He has had extensive experience in developing research strategies and educational programing with growers and processors in berry crops and tree fruit, small farms, and organic production. He has years of experience in food safety, organic, and sustainability certifications. He has a MS and PhD in horticulture from OSU and is fluent in Spanish.
Dr. Adele Amico Roxas,
Associate Program Director, UC Davis Olive Center.
(530) 752-4284
adamicoroxas@ucdavis.edu
Dr. Adele Amico Roxas is the Program Assistant at UC Davis Olive Center. Adele completed her Doctorate in her home city of Palermo, Italy, where she studied the physiology of pistachio under drought stress. She also worked on olive field management and production, milling and sensory aspects of oil and table olives. Adele’s strong organization skills and attention to detail makes her a great addition to the Olive Center’s Team. She has 8+ years of Program and Lab Management Experience, including a Post Doctorate at UC Davis, a PhD from the University of Palermo and is fluent in Italia
Chairs of the Olive Center
Shelley Blozis
Shelley Blozis is a Professor of Psychology at UC Davis. Her research focuses on statistical methods for data collected over time, with special attention to methods used to assess change and variability in longitudinal data, how zeros and missing data are handled in a data analysis, methods used to account for measurement error in data, and methods of estimation used in complex data analysis. Her research collaborations span across multiple research areas, such as nursing, viticulture, marketing analytics, social psychology, health psychology, and biology, with the aim of bringing advanced methodology into practice. She serves as a consulting editor for Behavior Research Methods and Psychological Methods and was elected to the Executive Committee of the American Psychological Association’s Quantitative and Qualitative Methods Division.
Giulia Marino
Giulia Marino is an Associate Professor of Cooperative Extension in Orchard Systems in the Department of Plant Science, University of California Davis. Her research and extension program integrates germplasm preservation and evaluation with tree physiology to improve orchards profitability and abiotic-stress resilience. She explores the interactions between cultivar-rootstock traits, pedo-climatic conditions and management practices and develops new knowledge and tools for growers to increase productivity under reduced water quantity and quality. Now she is leading a multidisciplinary research project to characterize water use and crop coefficient of California table and oil olive orchards and develop regulated deficit irrigation strategies that improve water use efficiency and product quality. As the California Statewide Orchard Systems Specialist, the US’s largest olive industry, she has an extensive extension program and collaboration with industry stakeholders.
Olea Learn Program students
Irvin Chao 
| Craig Marquis 
| Raeva Johson 
|
Thao Nguyen 
| Sydney Goodman 
| Chiara De Quay 
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Faculty and Research Specialists
Diseases
Dr. James Adaskaveg Professor, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, UC Riverside
Research: Epidemiology and management of olive knot
Dr. Maher al Rwahnih Project Scientist, Foundation Plant Services
Research: Olive viruses
Dr. Elizabeth Fichtner UC Cooperative Extension Specialist, Tulare County
Research: Epidemiology and management of olive knot, alternate-bearing cycle of olive.
Dr. Mohamed Nouri UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor, San Joaquin County
Research: Neofabraea
Dr. Florent Trouillas UC Cooperative Extension Specialist, Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Parlier
Research: Neofabraea
Fermentation/Microbiology
Dr. Kyria Boundy-Mills Curator, Phaff Yeast Culture Collection
Research: Starter cultures for fermented olives
Dr. Linda Harris Extension Specialist and Chair, Department of Food Science and Technology
Research: Microbiological food safety of olive oil processing
Dr. Maria Marco Professor and Microbiologist, Department of Food Science and Technology
Research: Causes and solutions for defects in Sicilian-Style olives
Pests
Dr. Kent Daane UCCE Extension Specialist, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, UC Berkeley
Research: Olive fruit fly parasitoids, black scale management
Dr. Emily Symmes UC Cooperative Extension Statewide IPM Advisor
Research: Olive fly management
Dr. Kris Tollerup UC Cooperative Extension IPM Advisor
Research: Olive fly management
Dr. Houston Wilson UC Cooperative Extension Specialist, Kearney Agricultural and Extension Center
Research: Tree crops IPM
Dr. Frank Zalom Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Entomology
Research: Olive fruit fly management
Orchard Management
Dr. Khaled Bali UC Cooperative Extension Specialist, Kearney Agricultural and Extension Center
Research: Irrigation in olives
Dr. Patrick Brown Professor, Department of Plant Sciences
Research: Plant nutrition
Dr. Louise Ferguson UC Cooperative Extension Specialist, Department of Plant Sciences and Co-Chair, UC Davis Olive Center
Research: Mechanical harvesting of table olives
Dr. Brad Hanson UC Cooperative Extension Specialist, Department of Plant Sciences
Research: Weed Management
Dr. Peter Larbi UC Cooperative Extension Specialist, Department of Plant Sciences
Research: Spray principles and techniques
Dr. Giulia Marino UC Cooperative Extension Specialist, Kearney Agricultural and Extension Center
Research: Irrigation in olives
Byproducts
Dr. Ed DePeters Distinguished Professor, Department of Animal Science
Research: Nutritional value of olive mill byproducts in animal feed
Dr. Peter Green Professional Research Engineer, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Research: Olive mill waste management
Dr. Amanda Hodson Professional Research Engineer, Assistant Researcher, Department of Entomology/Nematology
Research: Soil nutrition of olive mill pomace
Dr. Annie King Professor, Department of Animal Science
Research: Examining impacts on shelf life of processed meat through feeding olive mill byproducts to hens
Dr. Juliana Maria Leite Nobrega de Moura Bell Assistant Professor, Department of Food Science and Technology
Research: Olive Pomace
Dr. Nitin Nitin Professor and Engineer, Department of Food Science and Technology
Research: Olive oil byproducts and extracts
Dr. Zhongli Pan Adjunct Professor, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering
Research: Infrared heating for drying olive mill byproducts
Dr. Christopher Simmons Assistant Professor, Department of Food Science and Technology
Research: Treatment of olive wastewater via microbial fuel cells
Health
Dr. Roberta Holt Assistant Project Scientist, Department of Nutrition
Research: Health impacts of olive oil consumption
Dr. Bruce German Professor, Department of Food Science and Technology and Director, Foods for Health Institute
Research: Health impacts of olive oil in the diet
Dr. John Newman Research Chemist, USDA Western Human Nutrition Research Center
Associate Adjunct Professor, UC Davis Department of Nutrition
Research: Health impacts of olive oil consumption
Dr. Francene Steinberg Professor and Chair, Department of Nutrition
Research: Health impacts of olive oil consumption
Sensory and Consumer Testing
Dr. Jean-Xavier Guinard Professor, Department of Food Science and Technology, Interim Director, Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science
Research: Sensory analysis and consumer testing of table olives and olive oil
Economics
Dr. Travis Lybbert Professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
Research: Economic analysis of new California olive oil standards and production systems in developing nations
Dr. William Matthews Assistant Project Scientist, Agricultural Issues Center
Research: Economic analysis of the olive market in the United States
Dr. Daniel Sumner Executive Director, Agricultural Issues Center and Professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
Research: Economic analysis of the olive market in the United States
Processing
Dr. William Ristenpart Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering
Research: Electromagnetic response of oil droplets in table olive processing
Dr. Justin Siegel Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
Research: Developing novel enzymes for biosensor for olive oil rancidity and olive debittering