News Briefs
Save the Date: Honoring Our Retiring Faculty
Save the date for a retirement event celebrating six of our UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty members. Lunch and conversation: Tuesday, June 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the Moss Patio at the Walter A. Buehler Alumni Center, 530 Alumni Lane, UC Davis campus. Please RSVP via this survey, and include any memories or photos you would like shared via a slideshow during the celebration. Submit no later than May 17 (see survey).
Retiring faculty to be honored include:
- UC Davis distinguished professor James Carey
- UC Davis distinguished professor emerita Lynn Kimsey
- Robert Kimsey, assistant adjunct professor
- Professor emerita Sharon Lawler
- UC Davis distinguished professor Jay Rosenheim
- UC Davis distinguished professor Diane Ullman
Academic Senate Awards
Congratulations again to the recipients of the 2024 UC Davis Academic Senate and Academic Federation awards. As announced earlier, two members of the Academic Senate's winners' circle are UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology (and former professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology), and Professor Louie Yang of the Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT).
Leal won the Distinguished Faculty Research Award (see February news story) and Yang won a Distinguished Teaching Award, undergraduate category (see February news story). UC Davis Distinguished Professor Bruce Hammock of ENT nominated Leal, while Joanna Chiu, professor and chair of ENT, nominated Yang.
The awards reception is Monday, May 13; more information is pending. "In all, 15 faculty members have received awards from the two groups at UC Davis," UC Davis Dateline reports. (See list of the recipients.)
Podcast Features Bruce Hammock
UC Davis distinguished professor Bruce Hammock is interviewed on a podcast, Scientific Sense with Gill Eapen. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJBVW-kF1PY
Mary Louise Flint: 'Butterflies in Decline'
Entomologist Mary Louise Flint, professor of Cooperative Extension emerita and a longtime leader in the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management (UC IPM) Program, retiring in June 2014, is the author of an article, "Butterflies in Decline," in the Spring 2024 issue of The Acorn, the quarterly magazine published by the Effie Yeaw Nature Center. The center is operated by the American River Natural History Association (ARNHA). Flint is a docent and editor of the quarterly. (See her biography on the UC IPM website).
"Over the last decade or two, scientists in many parts of the world have documented examples of declining insect num- bers—both in numbers of species (species richness) and in the number of individuals of each species (population levels)," Flint began. "Habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change are usually identified as the main contributing factors, although circumstances vary among insect species and location." (See more on Bug Squad blog)
Sol Wantz: Shedding Light on Grasshoppers, Crickets and Katydids
UC Davis third-year entomology student Sol Wantz, an intern at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, president of the UC Davis Entomology Club, and an undergraduate researcher in the Neal Williams' lab, shed light on "Grasshoppers, Crickets and Katydids" when she delivered a presentation at a recent Bohart Museum open house. (See more on Bug Squad blog)
Art Shapiro Discusses Butterflies and Climate Change
The crowd at the recent UC Davis emeriti celebration listened closely to the presentation delivered by butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus, who has been monitoring butterfly populations in Central California since 1972.
The emeriti celebrations are the brainchild of UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology (and former professor and chair of the Department of Entomology). He organizes and hosts the events in the International Center.
The recent emeriti celebration honored 73 faculty who retired in the 2022-2023 cohort. Some discussed their research.
Shapiro titled his talk "Using Butterflies to Understand Biotic Responses to Climate Change." Shapiro began his UC Davis career in 1972 with the Department of Entomology. He recently retired from the UC Davis Department of Evolution and Ecology faculty, but continues his research with his former doctoral student, Professor Matt Forister of the University of Nevada. (See more on Bug Squad blog)
UC Davis Picnic Day
The Department of Entomology and Nematology is gearing up for the 110th annual UC Davis Picnic Day, set Saturday, April 20. Entomological events will take place only at Briggs Hall and not at the Bohart Museum of Entomology (located in Academic Surge, which will be closed). Bohart Museum is planning a pop-up tent at Briggs. This year's theme is "Picnic Palooza." More information is pending.