Dr. Luis Receives the AES Outstanding Young Researcher Award
By Colton Adams, Research Economist | Davis, CA – April 7, 2026
We are delighted to share that Dr. Luis Peña-Lévano, Assistant Professor of Cooperative Extension in Dairy Economics, has been honored with the Outstanding Young Researcher Award by the Agricultural Economics Society (AES) at its 100th Annual Conference in Oxford, United Kingdom.
This distinction is one of the AES Awards for Excellence and is widely regarded as one of the Society’s most important recognitions for early-career scholars. As an international professional society with members and influence across the globe, AES promotes excellence in agricultural economics through research, scholarship, and professional leadership. Receiving this award therefore represents not only a major personal milestone, but also an important global recognition within the field.
Dr. Peña-Lévano received the honor during the AES Centenary Conference, held at Wadham College, University of Oxford, on March 24, 2026, in the city where the Society was founded 100 years ago. In its formal letter, the AES Executive Committee recognized him as “a scholar addressing a range of topical issues in depth, showing exceptional promise.”
This award recognizes Dr. Peña-Lévano’s exceptional early-career research achievements, academic leadership, and international impact in agricultural economics.
The award also reflects his strong commitment to mentorship, collaboration, and the advancement of agricultural economics on a global scale. This latest distinction adds to a growing record of national and international recognition. Among other honors, Dr. Peña-Lévano has received the 2025 CWAE Mentorship and Outreach Award, the 2025 UC Davis Chancellor’s Fellow recognition, the 2025 IFAMA World Best Teaching Case Award, the 2025 IDF Best Poster in Farm Management and Labor Award, the 2023 IFAMA Rising Star Award, and the EAERE award for best paper published in Environmental and Resource Economics.