Dean H. Rao Unnava: May 2026 Big 3 Video

Dean H. Rao Unnava's May 2026 edition of the Big 3 features:

Global Leaders Strategize on Solutions at UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health's Partner Summit

Leading researchers, company executives and investors gathered in Monterey for our UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health's Partner Summit to explore the complex challenges transforming global food systems. This work connects closely with our Food & Ag Industry Immersion for MBA students. View video. 

"Everyone Says Personal Branding Is About You. Everyone Is Wrong."

Personal branding is the most important career skill in the age of AI says lecturer and MBA alumna Vanessa Errecarte in her new book "Valuable and Visible." She sums up her advice in a nutshell: "Your potential audience is your customer. Teach them something of value, and they will trust and remember you.". Read more.

Big Bang! Awards Nearly $100,000 in Prizes to California-based Teams

Our Mike and Renee Child Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship awarded nearly $100,000 to the most promising student startups at the finals of the 26th annual Big Bang! Business Competition. Winners included early-stage ventures across animal and human health, food and ag, edtech and energy, including a residency award for lab space to HerdSense, a UC Davis MSBA team developing cattle health analytics. Read more.

Video Transcript

Welcome to the May 2026 and my last issue of the Big 3 as dean.

Global Leaders Strategize on Challenges at UC Davis Food and Health Summit

I just returned from an amazing gathering of global leaders in food, health and innovation at the Innovation Institute for Food and Health Partner Summit at Asilomar in Monterey. Researchers, scientists, venture capitalists, CEOs and industry executives gathered to examine the signals shaping the future of food and health systems, from biotechnology and artificial intelligence to nutrition, sustainability and shifting consumer behavior. 

Rather than predicting a single future, the summit focused on identifying emerging challenges and opportunities, and exploring their strategic, commercial and investment implications. The conversations were intentionally designed to spark collaboration across industries and disciplines, and several new partnerships and ventures emerged directly from the summit. 

This work also connects closely with our Food and Ag Industry Immersion at the Graduate School of Management, where MBA students engage directly with industry leaders and explore the complex challenges transforming global food systems. Together, these efforts reinforce UC Davis’ leadership at the intersection of food, agriculture, health and innovation. 

"Everyone Says Personal Branding Is About You. Everyone Is Wrong."

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with our lecturer and MBA alumna Vanessa Errecarte to discuss her new book titled: Valuable & Visible: Redefining Personal Branding by Leading with Impact Over Image. Vanessa is an award-winning marketing consultant, a two-time Teacher of the Year at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, and now a nationally recognized voice on personal branding and leadership. Her message challenges conventional thinking. 

As she writes, “Everyone says personal branding is about you. Everyone is wrong.” Instead of focusing on self-promotion or image management, Vanessa argues that the strongest personal brands are built by creating value for others, leading with substance and earning trust through meaningful impact. 

The book is already generating national media attention and resonating with professionals navigating an increasingly noisy and AI-driven marketplace. Vanessa’s work reflects what we value at UC Davis GSM, leadership grounded in authenticity, expertise and real-world impact. 

Big Bang! Awards Nearly $100,000 in Prizes to California-based Teams

We were thrilled to celebrate the winners of the 26th annual Big Bang! Business Competition this week. The Mike and Renee Child Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship awarded almost $100,000 in grants and startup residencies to outstanding students and early-stage entrepreneurs from UC Davis and across California. 

A huge thank you to all the sponsors, judges, mentors, and staff who made it possible. More than 90 teams entered, and 17 teams advanced to the final round at end of the year-long competition and workshop series. 

Judges awarded the $25,000 first-place prize to First Bite, a UC Davis biomedical engineering team developing a medical device designed to help secure breathing tubes for infants in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units. 

This year’s $10,000 sector award winners included:

• Stork Labs Medical for Human Health
• Pharmstead for Animal Health
• Proof Pudding for Food & Agriculture
• CuraVoice for Education Technology
• Data Pigeon for Energy & Sustainability
• Ground Truth Genomics for Social Entrepreneurship

$4,000 Residency Awards were presented to Ground Truth Genomics from AgStart, and First Bite and HerdSense, a team of our Master of Science in Business Analytics graduates who have teamed up with a veterinarian on an innovative tech to spot cattle lameness. UC Davis alumnus and successful entrepreneur Tim Keller awarded First Bite and HerdSense lab space at Inventopia, his Davis incubator. 

Congratulations to all of this year’s finalists and winners for the creativity, determination and innovation they brought to this year’s competition. We look forward to seeing the competition continue to grow and make an impact. 

Thank you for watching my 65th and final issue of the Big 3.