Davis received a bachelor's degree in 1967 and his master's degree in 1968, both in biology from Abilene Christian University. He earned his doctorate in 1974 from Texas A&M University, where he also worked as an instructor in botany. He joined the faculty at Pepperdine in 1974.Much of Davis's research centers on plant physiological ecology or the ability of plants to adapt to fire, freezing and drought. He has written numerous book chapters and scholarly articles for such publications as Nature, The American Journal of Botany and the International Journal of Plant Science and Ecology.In 2002, Davis was awarded Pepperdine's largest-ever National Science Foundation grant - a three-year, $300,000 grant to study chaparral, the most abundant native plant life in Southern California. That same year Davis was honored as Pepperdine Professor of the Year.Davis also has received recognition for his post-fire ecology research, including the 2007-08 Mountains Restoration Trust Award and Task Awards in 2003-04 and 2007-09 from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Since 1989, Davis and his biology faculty colleagues also have received a continuing NSF grant to fund Pepperdine's Summer Undergraduate Research in Biology (SURB) program.The Harriet and Charles Luckman Distinguished Teaching Fellow from 1990-95, Davis also has served as a visiting scholar at Stanford University, UCLA and the University of Utah. His honors include membership in Phi Sigma Biological Sciences Honor Society and Golden Key National Honor Society. In addition, he is a member of the American Society for the Advancement of Science, Council on Undergraduate Research Botanical Society of America, Ecological Society of America, and American Institute of Biological Science.

Plant water relations in chaparral coastal sage scrub and ferns of California Mechanical properties of plants in relation to cavitation resistance and hydraulic properties Pathophysiology of fungal disease in native plants