The Entomological Society of America (ESA) is proud to announce its selection of ten new Fellows. Selection as an ESA Fellow acknowledges outstanding contributions in research, teaching, extension, or administration. The following honorees will be recognized during the ESA Annual Meeting, which will be held from November 16-19, 2008 in Reno, Nevada.
2008 Fellows
Dr. Coulson's research has been transdisciplinary in approach, directed to investigations of the activities and impacts of insects and other taxa in forest, prairie, savanna, and agricultural landscapes. The research addresses issues of significance to entomology, ecology, and land-use management.
In 1984, he co-founded the Knowledge Engineering Laboratory (KEL; http://kelab.tamu.edu ) to facilitate research and development of computer applications for planning, problem-solving, and decision making in environmental science and management. The focus of KEL research has been directed to landscape-scale problems that require integration, interpretation, and use of different representations of knowledge. Special emphasis has been placed on ways and means of blending qualitative, heuristic knowledge of experts with quantitative information that results from scientific investigations. Most of the projects in KEL have had an entomological underpinning, e.g., integrated pest management of the southern pine beetle, landscape ecology of feral Africanized honey bees, risk-rating post-oak savanna landscapes for fire ants, etc.
He has served as mentor for 46 postdoctoral associates, 11 Ph.D. students, and 57 undergraduate research students. He has been an editor for four books and has published about 190 research papers, reviews, and book chapters. He has received numerous awards, including Claude Pepper and MERIT Awards from NIH, the Wright Award in Olfactory Research, the Max Planck Research Award, the ESA Founders' Memorial Award, an Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation Research Prize, the Silver Medal of the International Society of Chemical Ecology, an honorary degree from the University of Cagliari (Italy), and an Einstein Professorship in the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has also been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.
He has served as president of the Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs, the International Society for Neuroethology, the International Society for Chemical Ecology, and the Association for Chemoreception Science, and he has served as an officer of the Society for Neuroscience and the International Brain Research Organization. He is an elected fellow of the Royal Entomological Society (UK) and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Lacey received his master's degree (1975) and Ph.D. (1978) in entomology at the University of California, Riverside. His first work was with the National Institute of Amazon Research in Manaus, Brazil. Subsequently, he has worked for the USDA Agricultural Research Service, the World Health Organization, and the Vector Biology and Control Project (USAID) in the U.S., Latin America, West Africa, Europe, and several other regions of the world. His research has included studies on the biology and microbial control of black flies, mosquitoes, Japanese beetle, whiteflies, and several insect pests of tree fruit and potato. He led the Japanese beetle control project on Terceira Island (Azores, Portugal), and he conducted foreign exploration for natural enemies of Bemisia tabaci while based in Montpellier, France. In 1996, he was assigned to the USDA-ARS laboratory in Wapato, WA, where he has implemented a research program in insect pathology.
Lacey has served as an officer in the ESA and in the Society for Invertebrate Pathology, and as subject editor, co-editor and editorial board member for ESA journals and for the Journal of Invertebrate Pathology. His honors include an International Honor Award from the USDA Foreign Agriculture Service and a Public Service Award from the University of California, Riverside Alumni Association.
He began his career as a technician at the European Corn Borer Laboratory (later named the Corn Insects Research Unit, Ankeny, Iowa). He became project leader of the Insect Pathology and Biological Control Projects in 1968, and in 1990 became the leader of the Research Unit. In 1997, he became research leader of the Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research Unit, which was formed by joining the Corn Insects and Forage Crops Research Units in Ames, IA. As an adjunct professor of entomology at Iowa State University (ISU), he has directed 18 graduate students in their studies. Dr. Lewis will retire from the USDA-ARS in September to become chair of the Department of Entomology at ISU. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in animal science from the University of Vermont, and his Ph.D. in entomology from ISU in 1970.
Dr. Lewis was recently named as recipient of the world renowned Wolf Prize in Agriculture. Additionally, his awards include ESA's Founders' Memorial Lecturer Award, the USDA-ARS Outstanding Scientist of the Year Award, the Jean-Marie Delwart Prize for the Science of Chemical Communications, and an Invitational Fellowship for Research by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. He has also received Special Congressional Recognition for Outstanding Achievement, Service and Public Distinction, and was appointed by Academic Press as charter editor of the international journal Biological Control: Theory and Applications in Pest Management. His extensive international influence is further evidenced by the numerous scientists and students who have come from all over the world to work in his lab under his guidance and training.
As a member of the curatorial staff of the Allyn Museum of Entomology in Sarasota, Florida, Dr. Miller joined the Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, in 1981. She co-taught courses in entomology, biosystematics, and undergraduate thesis tutorials at New College of Florida in Sarasota (1994-2004) as well as short courses on entomology at the College of the Bahamas (1995-1998). In addition, she lectures on the biodiversity and biogeography of Lepidoptera at the University of Florida, and has served on or been chair of more than 23 committees. Dr. Miller currently serves as the Allyn Curator for Lepidoptera and as the associate director of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida. She is a member of three editorial boards and serves as editor of the Bulletin of the Allyn Museum. Dr. Miller recently received a three-year University of Florida research professorship award. She was also recognized in 2005 by the Southern Lepidopterists' Society with the Abbot Award for her significant contributions to the study of Caribbean Lepidoptera.
Dr. Miller has served the ESA in several leadership positions, including Secretary, Vice-Chair, and Chair of the old Section A (Systematics, 1997-2000); member of the Ethics Committee (2001-2003) and Systematics Resources Committee (1994-1997; 2000-2004); Co-Chair of the Local Arrangements Committee for the Annual Meeting (2001-2002); and member of the Governing Board (2003-2006).
Dr. Parrella maintains a teaching/research program in entomology and works in the area of developing IPM strategies for ornamental crops, with an emphasis on biological control. Dr. Parrella is the author of more than 375 publications, with more than 200 of these appearing in trade journals. For 10 years he wrote a monthly column for Greenhouse Manager and GrowerTalks magazines. Dr. Parrella's laboratory has been an incubator for the development of other research/extension personnel currently working in floricultural entomology.
Dr. Parrella is the recipient of the California Association Research Award (1986), the ESA Recognition Award (1987), the Futura Research and Education Award from the Professional Plant Growers Association (1991), the Alex Laurie Research Award from the Society of American Florists (1997), the Virginia Tech Distinguished Alumni Award (1998), and the Emma Lausten Horticulture Award from Rutgers University (2007). Dr. Parrella initiated and organized the first Conference on Insect and Disease Management on Ornamentals, sponsored by the Society of American Florists (San Jose, CA in 1985), which has become an annual event, currently in its 23rd year.
Dan is an associate editor for Environmental Entomology , subject editor for Applied Turfgrass Science , and is active in youth science outreach. He teaches undergraduate horticultural entomology, a graduate course in insect-plant relationships, and is a frequent keynote speaker at scientific and industry conferences throughout the world. Dr. Potter has received the national ESA Distinguished Achievement Awards in Urban Entomology (1995), Teaching (1999) and Horticultural Entomology (2006), as well as university awards for research, teaching, and service to graduate students, plus several leadership and service awards from the turf and landscape industries.
Dr. Steffey has served the ESA as President of the North Central Branch (1998), on the Governing Board (1990-1993, 2000-2005), as ESA President (2004), and as a member of numerous committees, including the Restructuring Advisory Council (2006-2007). He was co-editor of the ESA's Handbook of Corn Insects , published in 1999. "I have been recognized several times by the ESA, University of Illinois, and other organizations for my extension entomology efforts, but this honor surpasses them all," Steffey said. "I thank all of my colleagues, collaborators, and friends in the ESA for their support for many years; the often unjustly, unrecognized giants upon whose shoulders I have stood; and my wife, Ria, whose support has overshadowed all others."
Zalom is a fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, and has received numerous awards, among them ESA's Recognition and Distinguished Achievement in Extension Awards, a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship, the James H. Meyer Award from UC Davis for career recognition in teaching, research, and public service, and a resolution from the California State Legislature in recognition of his career contributions to agriculture. Zalom's research and extension activities focus on developing alternatives to conventional pesticides for insect and mite pests of fruit, nut, and vegetable crops, and on mitigating pesticide movement into surface waters. He has authored over 260 journal articles and book chapters, including the book Food, Crop Pests and the Environment .