Older man in a ball cap and red-striped shirt, arms crossed, photographed at indoor social gathering — Bob Travis was a faculty member in the former UC Davis Department of Agronomy and Range Science and the merged Department of Plant Sciences for three decades. (Courtesy Lyn Hooper)

Travis Remembered for Work in Alfalfa, Cotton

Physiologist & Agronomy Prof Known as a “Renaissance Man”

by Trina Kleist
April 10, 2026

Quick Summary

Bob Travis at UC Davis, and enjoyed hobbies including music, travel, building, wood-carving, collecting, and restored a classic automobile.

Vintage portrait of young man in red western shirt playing acoustic guitar, looking up — As a young man, Bob Travis enjoyed playing and performing on guitar. He resumed this passion later in life. (Courtesy Lyn Hooper)

Retired professor and agronomist Robert “Bob” LeRoy Travis, Jr., died on Oct. 27, 2025, due to complications following head trauma sustained in a fall. Family, friends and colleagues celebrated his life in February. He was 85.

Travis was born on Oct. 7, 1940, in Oakland, Calif., to Travis Mildred (Patterson) Travis and Robert LeRoy Travis, Sr.

He spent his early years in Clear Lake Oaks, Calif. in Lake County, in a house built especially for him by his father and grandfather following an abscessed lung diagnosis. In later years, Travis would share stories of the two men building the house during World War II, using whatever scrap materials they could scavenge.

The family later moved to Hayward, Calif., and Travis graduated from Hayward High School in 1958. He attended the College of San Mateo on his way to fulfilling his then- goal of becoming a farm advisor. It was there he met Mary Fendrick, and they married in 1963.

Travis earned a B.S. in agronomy in 1964, an M.S. in agronomy in 1966 and a Ph.D. in plant physiology, studying under Prof. Ray C. Huffaker, in 1969; all from UC Davis.

He also played guitar in local bands as a young man in Hayward and gigs at the Coffee House at UC Davis while he was a student there.

Academic career

Black-and-white portrait photograph of a young man in a suit with 1960s-style haircut. — Bob Travis earned three degrees at UC Davis, then later returned to teach for three decades. (Courtesy Lyn Hooper)

Following graduation, Travis worked first as a research associate and then as an assistant professor at the University of Georgia, in Athens. In 1974, he moved to the U.S. Borax Research Corp. in Anaheim, Calif., working as a research agronomist.

In 1976, he returned to UC Davis as an assistant professor in the former Department of Agronomy and Range Science. In 1979, he was promoted to associate professor and, in 1984, to full professor.

Travis’ earliest research focused on nitrate reductase in photosynthesis. His research expanded to include more general questions involving phytochemistry, including root membrane processes and the interaction of photosynthesis with nitrate reductase. He collaborated with numerous colleagues, including former Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef, on research on plant respiration and its connection to protein synthesis.

This research led to a broadening of his interest in plant growth and development. In collaboration with Prof. L. Teuber and others, he conducted research on alfalfa growth and development, including physiological and morphological traits to improve alfalfa breeding.

Subsequently, his interest in root phytochemistry led him to collaboration with Prof. D.W. “Bill” Rains and others (and county advisors with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources) on appropriate strategies for cotton fertilization. With their students and postdocs, they carried out a series of on-farm experiments that led to important improvements in cotton fertilization.

Initially in collaboration with Rains and later by himself, Travis taught the highly popular undergraduate course, Growth and Yield of Cultivated Plants. He and Rains jointly supervised numerous graduate students and postdocs.

Black-and-white photo of a bespectacled man in a white coat writing at a desk with plants behind — Bob Travis's early work focused on plant physiology. This photo of Travis in a lab was probably taken in the 1960s, perhaps while a student at UC Davis. (Courtesy Lyn Hooper)

Builder, traveler, wood-carver, collector

The Travis family lived in Davis, Calif. They lovingly restored Travis’ childhood home Clear Lake Oaks and used it as a family cabin until 2004. He built a cabin near Big Sky, Mont., where he and his family and friends spent summers after his retirement. The couple traveled extensively throughout the continental U.S. during every year of their 62-year marriage, with additional visits to Alaska, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America.

Older man standing next to mint-green vintage car on sunny suburban driveway — In his youth, Bob Travis had a 1950 Chevy Belair. In retirement, he bought another car, same model and year, and restored it. This photo was taken in 2022. (Courtesy Lyn Hooper)

Travis was known for his witty and playful sense of humor. He was a renaissance man, having numerous talents outside of academia. He was a renowned wood carver, with his carvings of western-themed caricatures gaining national recognition. In addition, he was a founding member and former president of the Caricature Carvers of America and taught wood carving throughout the U.S. He restored and displayed antique automobiles. He was a knowledgeable coin and stamp collector.

In retirement, he reignited his passion for the guitar and enjoyed playing his favorites from Johnny Cash, Credence Clearwater Revival and the Ventures, among others.

Travis was traveling to Montana when he fell, and he eventually returned to the Sacramento area, where he died.

He is survived by his wife, Mary, and their two children, Robert Lee Travis and Lyn Margaret (Travis) Hooper.

Media Resources

Trina Kleist, UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, [email protected] or (530) 601-6846 or (530) 754-6148.

Primary Category

Obituaries and deaths

Secondary Categories

Field crops