Faculty Directory

Learn from faculty who bridge theory and practice

At UC Davis, you learn from world-class scholars and industry leaders who bring global perspectives and real-world insights into every class. They create a collaborative, high-impact learning environment that combines academic rigor with professional relevance.

Our faculty are more than instructors. They are mentors who know your name, challenge your thinking and support your success. With a low student-to-faculty ratio, you'll build strong, personal connections that continue long after graduation.

Trained at top institutions including Stanford, MIT, Wharton, Carnegie Mellon, Harvard, Chicago Booth, Cornell and Northwestern, our faculty combine academic expertise with real business experience. Many consult with Fortune 500 firms, lead influential research and advise on public policy.

You’ll engage with complex business problems through case studies, simulations, guest lectures and team projects. This immersive approach turns big ideas into practical tools you can use throughout your career.

10:1

student: faculty ratio

ACCESSIBLE

40%

female faculty

DIVERSE

Top 15%

globally for research impact

HIGH QUALITY

(QS, 2025)

Glossary
OR
Mak Ahmad

Mak Ahmad

Lecturer

Ph.D., Computer Science, UC Davis, In Progress
Master of Science (M.S.), Computer Science, Sonoma State University, 2017
Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Computer and Electrical Engineering, UC Davis, 2004

Research Expertise
Visualization and Human-Computer Interaction

Areas of Expertise
Technology Management

Portrait of Joe DiNunzio

Joe DiNunzio

Executive Director, Mike and Renee Child Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Assistant Adjunct Professor

Master of Business Administration (MBA), Stanford Graduate School of Business, 1988
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Psychology, Harvard University, 1984

Research Expertise
Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Management Consulting, Entertainment & Media, Technology

Areas of Expertise 
Operations Management, Management & Organizations, Technology Management

(530) 746-8657

540 Alumni Lane 3411 Gallagher Hall Davis, CA 95616

Headshot of Doug Findlay

Doug Findlay

Lecturer

Master of Business Administration (MBA), UC Davis Graduate School of Management
Bachelor of Science (B.S.), California State University, Sacramento

Lecturer Douglas Findlay brings over 30 years of experience in the technology sector, building extensive expertise and practical knowledge in the areas of product marketing, product management, new market development, market strategy, channel strategy, sales management, and business operations.

Andrew B. Hargadon

Andrew B. Hargadon

Professor

Ph.D., Stanford University

Research Expertise
The effective management of innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly in the development and commercialization of sustainable technologies

Professor Andrew B. Hargadon has written extensively on innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly the commercialization science and technology and the management of research and development. He has published numerous articles and chapters in leading scholarly and applied publications.

Hargadon is at the forefront of teaching, research and practice in cross-disciplinary entrepreneurship, and is founding director of two key centers at UC Davis—the Mike and Renee Child Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Energy Efficiency Center. These centers are dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and innovation through educational programs bridging science, engineering and business. They provide a successful framework for university scientists and engineers to move their ideas out of the lab and into the world.

Hargadon received the 2009 Olympus Emerging Educational Leader Award in recognition for his strong entrepreneurship curriculum and success with the two centers.

Prior to his academic appointment, Hargadon worked as a product designer at Apple Computer and taught in the Product Design program at Stanford University.

A senior fellow at the Kauffman Foundation, Hargadon is the author of How Breakthroughs Happen: The Surprising Truth About How Companies Innovate (Harvard Business School Press, 2003).

His most recent book is Sustainable Innovation: Build Your Company’s Capacity to Change the World (Stanford University Press, 2015).

Hargadon received his Ph.D. from Stanford University’s School of Engineering, where he was named Boeing Fellow and Sloan Foundation Future Professor of Manufacturing. He received his M.S. in mechanical engineering and B.S. in engineering from Stanford University’s Product Design Program.

  • AlwaysOn 2012 Power Players in Greentech: The University Players.
  • Charles M. Soderquist Chair in Entrepreneurship, UC Davis Graduate School of Management, 2010-present.
  • Olympus Emerging Educational Leader Award, National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance, 2009.
  • Chancellor’s Fellow, UC Davis, 2005-present.
  • Vanguard Award for the Energy Efficiency Center, Comstock’s Magazine, 2006.
  • Professors of Manufacturing Fellow, Stanford Integrated Manufacturing Association.
  • Boeing Fellow, Future Professors of Manufacturing, Stanford Integrated Manufacturing Association.

(530) 752-2277

540 Alumni Lane 3316 Gallagher Hall Davis, CA 95616

Catherine Kendall headshot

Catherine Kendall

Lecturer

Doctor of Education (EdD) in Education Policy, Drexel University, 2014
Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Management Information Systems, University of California, Davis, Graduate School of Management, 1999
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Agricultural and Managerial Economics, University of California, Davis, 1993

Research Expertise
Macroeconomic history and trends, Domestic violence and marginalized populations, Intersectionality, Socio-ecological framework

(916) 293-2498

Eric Liederman

Eric Liederman

Lecturer

M.D., Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, 1989
M.P.H, Health Policy and Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 1996
B.A., Classical Archaeology, Dartmouth College, 1984

Research Expertise
Health Economics, Clinical Informatics, Medical Operations, Privacy and Security, Patient messaging

Areas of Expertise
Business Analytics, Management & Organizations, Technology Management

(510) 368-4319

Huy Tran

Huy Tran

Lecturer

Master of Business Administration (MBA), UC Davis Graduate School of Management

Huy Tran brings over 15 years of public and private sector experience in technology leadership, business transformation, continuous improvement, project management and data analytics. He has a career that spans higher education, healthcare and, most recently, Fortune 500 Technology.

Headshot of Hemant Vaidya

Hemant Vaidya

Lecturer and Director of Biotechnology Industry Immersion

Ph.D. Microbiology, Sardar Patel University, India
Post Doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Chemistry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis MO

Research Expertise
Healthcare, In Vitro Diagnostics, product development, executive management, Healthcare Biotechnology

Mary Kay Vona

Mary Kay Vona

Lecturer

Ph.D., Organizational Development and Executive Leadership, The George Washington University, 1997
 

Research Expertise
Research focused on Organizational Transformation, Learning & Development, DE&I and Talent Management (primarily technology enabled transformation). 

Headshot of Ayako Yasuda

Ayako Yasuda

Professor, Maurice J. and Marcia G. Gallagher Chair in Finance

Ph.D., Economics, Stanford University, 2001

Research Expertise 
Venture Capital, Private Equity, Sustainable Finance, Institutional Investing, Entrepreneurial Finance, Technology Finance 

Ayako Yasuda is a professor of finance at the Graduate School of Management, University of California, Davis, where she holds the Maurice J. and Marcia G. Gallagher Chair in Finance. She is a senior fellow of the Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research (ABFER) and a fellow of the Private Equity Research Consortium.

(530) 752-0775

540 Alumni Lane 3402 Gallagher Hall Davis, CA 95616