Being named a Fellow of the 6000-member Entomological Society of America (ESA) is like winning the Pulitzer Prize in the bug world.
So many talented entomologists out there. So few awards. And even fewer prestigious awards.
When the ESA today announced its 10 Fellows for 2011, two University of California, Davis professors were on the list: Diane E. Ullman, who doubles as the associate dean for undergraduate academic programs in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and James R. Carey, considered the world’s foremost authority on arthropod demography and a world expert on the invasion biology of tephritid fruit flies, particularly the Mediterranean fruit fly.
Ullman's research revolves around insects that transmit plant pathogens, in particular plant viruses. She is best known for advancing international knowledge of interactions between thrips and tospoviruses and aphids and citrus tristeza virus.
With the additions of Ullman and Carey, the number of ESA Fellows in the UC Davis Department of Entomology totals 15 since 1947, quite an accomplishment for one department.
Read about the Ullman/Carey accomplishments on the UC Davis Department of Entomology website.
Three others affiliated with the UC System made the list:
--Anthony A. James, a distinguished professor of microbiology and molecular genetics in the School of Medicine and Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences at UC Irvine.
--Brad Mullens, professor of entomology, College of Agricultural Sciences, UC Riverside, and
--Fred Stephen, who began his forest entomology career at UC Berkeley and is now a professor of entomology at the University of Arkansas
Elsewhere throughout the country, the coveted honor went to Susan Brown, professor of biology at Kansas State University; Angela Douglas, professor of insect physiology and toxicology at Cornell University; Frank Gilstrap, former biology control faculty member with Texas A&M and now retired; Naomi Pierce, Hessel professor of biology at Harvard University; and Marlin Rice, former professor at Iowa State University and now a senior research scientist with Pioneer H-Bred International in Johnston, Iowa.
The 10 new Fellows will be inducted at the ESA's 59th Annual Meeting, set Nov. 13-16, 2011 in Reno, Nev.
The Fellow awards are quite prestigious as the ESA Governing Board can select no more than 10 each year. The society, founded in 1889, is the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and people in related disciplines.
Headquartered in Lanham, MD, the organization is affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry and government. Members are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, consultants, students, and hobbyists.
Some folks toast their accomplishments with a bottle of champagne. We suspect these 10 newly selected Fellows might just tip...an insect net.
Attached Images:
Diane Ullman, entomology professor and associate dean at UC Davis, is a newly elected Fellow of the Entomological Society of America. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Professor James R. Carey of UC Davis, considered the world’s foremost authority on arthropod demography, is a newly selected ESA Fellow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)