Professor Heidi Ballard knows how powerful it can be when scientists partner with the public to do research on environmental issues that affect their communities.

Professor Jonathan Eisen takes the complicated topics his lab works on — like the study of ecology, evolution and function of microbes and microbial communities — and makes them approachable and understandable to the general public.

Sanjay Joshi, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UC Davis, and his lab are working with people in the medical, engineering, and disability communities to improve the capabilities of machines in order to assist people with physical limitations.