The (food) Force Is With Him

When you meet Jack Bobo successful personification — and spot me, you want to meet Jack Bobo successful personification — inquire him astir Star Wars.

“I helped create nan charismatic 7 forms of light-saber combat,” says Bobo. “A friend of excavation was moving for Lucasfilm and knew that I was an avid fencer, truthful he called maine up to help.”

Despite having an introduction connected nan instrumentality tract Wookieepedia (“Could location be immoderate much definitive source?” he says pinch a smile), Bobo sees his top escapade not successful a postulation far, acold away, but correct present connected campus.

Last fall, he was named nan inaugural executive head of nan UCLA Rothman Family Institute for Food Studies (RFI). Founded by Marcie Rothman ’68, whose alumni family has supported much than 60 UCLA departments for much than 9 decades, nan RFI intends to beryllium nan eventual interdisciplinary Bruin nexus of food-related science, education, invention and impact.

“UCLA is an astonishing institution, doing groundbreaking investigation successful tons of different areas, and my dream is that nan RFI will beryllium nan instrumentality to return our nutrient investigation further into nan world,” Bobo says. “Food brings group together and breaks down barriers. It’s an opportunity to build bridges that spell good beyond nan meal table.”

And erstwhile it comes to food, Bobo knows. Most precocious nan head of nan University of Nottingham’s Food Systems Institute successful nan U.K., Bobo traveled to astir 60 countries arsenic a elder advisor for world nutrient argumentation astatine nan U.S. State Department, and he penned nan 2021 book Why Smart People Make Bad Food Choices — each aft a stint arsenic a Peace Corps unpaid successful Central Africa.

Bobo traces his food-related travel backmost to his puerility successful Indiana, wherever his family kept a immense garden, increasing and canning beautiful overmuch each consequence and rootlike that would turn there. “As a child, I did not bask being forced to activity successful nan garden, truthful I ne'er thought I would extremity up successful a nutrient and agriculture career,” he says pinch a laugh. “But ultimately, it was invaluable, because I developed a hands-on appreciation for what it takes to put nutrient connected nan table.”

Bobo plans connected taking afloat advantage of L.A.’s bonzer nutrient civilization and diverseness successful his quest to thief nan RFI scope its afloat imaginable arsenic a world powerhouse. But he’s not ruling retired nan intergalactic conscionable yet.

“I cognize he doesn’t usage a ray saber, but I’ve ever been inspired by Han Solo and his expertise to find imaginative solutions,” says Bobo, pinch a winking reside Harrison Ford would person been proud to deploy. “The champion measurement to lick immoderate problems — connected Earth aliases elsewhere — is to deliberation otherwise astir nan challenges we face.”

Read much from UCLA Magazine’s Spring 2025 issue.