July 2016 Welcome New Faculty
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HEXAPOD HERALD Vol. 28, No. 3 Entomology Department , University of Nebraska-Lincoln July 2016 Welcome New Faculty Dr. Troy Anderson will be joining the Entomology Department in August as an as- sociate professor with a research and teaching appointment. His primary responsibilities will be to develop a research and teaching program that uses integrative tactics including “I am really excited modern molecular, genetic, biochemical, and “omics” tools to understand key physiologi- cal functions of insects or related arthropods. Troy received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in to start my new po- Biological Sciences from Wichita State, and his Ph.D. degree in Entomology from Kan- sition at the Depart- sas State. He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Entomology at Virginia Tech from 2006-2008 and an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at the ment of Entomolo- University of Texas at Tyler, TX from 2008-2010. He has been in the Entomology De- gy, and I am looking partment at Virginia Tech since 2010. forward to continu- A. Justin McMechan (officially Doctor on August 15) will be joining the Department ing my research on in August as an extension assistant professor with a extension and research appoint- ment. His responsibilities will be to develop a national caliber extension and research a better understand- crop protection program developing best practices with designed integration of crop pro- ing of insect control tection and cropping system practices in eastern Nebraska rainfed and irrigated produc- tion systems. His office will be located at the ARDC (ENREC). Justin received his B.S. technologies and degree in Agronomy from the University of Minnesota in 2009, and his M.S. degree ento- teaching the insecti- mology in 2012 from UNL. He graduated from UNL’s Doctor of Plant Health Program this spring and will receive his Ph.D. degree from UNL this summer. cide toxicology course this fall.” Dr. Ana Vélez joined the department this month as an assistant professor with a research and teaching appointment. Ana’s primary responsibilities will be to develop a research and teaching program that is recognized nationally and internationally in insect - Dr. Ana Vélez toxicology which contributes to organizational missions such as Stress Biology, Healthy Agroecosystems, and Cropping System Pesticide Resistance Management. She re- ceived her B.S. degree in Biology from the Pontifica Universidad Javeriana, Colombia, her M.S. degree in Entomology from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and her Ph.D. in Entomology from UNL in 2013. She was a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Entomology Department from 2013 - 2015 and has been a research assistant profes- sor in the department for the past year. In This Issue Welcome new faculty, M.S. student, online students, visiting scholar North Central Branch ESA awards Publications Grants Meet an Online Student Blast from the Past Dr. Troy Anderson A. Justin McMechan Dr. Ana Vélez ESA-NCB Award Winners Dr. Tom Weissling received the 2016 ESA North Central Branch Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching at the meeting held in June. Tom has been the coordinator of the online masters degree program since he joined the department in 2006 and in 2015 added coordinator duties for the department insect science under- graduate degree program. He is an instructor for undergraduate and graduate courses and serves as an advisor for undergraduate and graduate students. Tom also develops literacy and outreach programs related to arthro- pod ecology and conservation. His primary focus is documentation of insect diversity on milkweed plants in Ne- braska, and he is working with graduate students to develop related citizen science projects such as Milkweed Watch. Justin McMechan was announced as a recipient of the 2016 ESA North Central Branch J.H. Comstock Graduate Student Award at the meeting in Cleveland, OH. Justin graduated from the Doctor of Plant Health Pro- gram at UNL in May and will be graduating with a Ph.D degree in Entomology from UNL in August. The combina- tion of these doctoral programs has allowed Justin to take an interdisciplinary approach in his dissertation re- search to address risk assessment of over-summering hosts for the wheat-mite-virus complex in winter wheat. The award includes a $1,000 cash prize, along with an all-expense-paid trip to the national meeting in Orlando, FL in September, where the certificate will be presented. Student Award Winners Camila Oliveira Hofman—1st Place, Ph.D. poster competition Matheus Ribeiro—3rd Place, Ph.D. poster competition Elliot Knoell—2nd Place, M.S. poster competition Kaitlin Chapman—1st Place, Ph.D. paper competition Adriano Pereira—3rd Place, Ph.D. paper competition Patrick Wagner—1st Place, M.S. paper competition Westen Archibald—2nd Place, M.S. paper competition Camila Oliveira Hofman and Kaitlin Chapman each received a NCB-ESA Presidential Student Travel Scholarship to support their travel to the meeting. Grants Julie Peterson Monsanto . $13,617 “New traits for western bean cutworm control” DuPont . $5,000 “Reduced risk pesticides for western bean cutworm control and impact on non-target beneficial arthropods” Valent . $6,000 “Management of spider mites in field corn” Robert Wright FMC Agricultural Products . $18,000 “Insect Management Research” Etsuko Moriyama, Hideaki Moriyama, and Ana María Vélez have received funding from the Nebraska Corn Board in the amount of $49,998 for the project, “Validation of CO2 Receptors for Western Corn Rootworm Control by RNAi”. Congratulations! Dr. Dave Taylor, USDA-ARS- AMRU, and an adjunct profes- sor in the Entomology Depart- ment, received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 60th Annual Livestock Insect Workers Conference June 26 - 29, 2016, in Oklahoma City, Lindsay Overmyer Eduardo Valentin Cruzado Clebson dos Cantos Tavares OK. The Lifetime Achievement Award is sponsored by Bayer Animal Health and recognizes Student News a scientist for outstanding con- tributions to animal health and Lindsay Overmyer is a new masters student who will be working un- productivity. der the supervision of Dr. Gary Hein. Lindsay received her bachelor’s de- gree in agronomy this spring from Wilmington College, Wilmington, OH. Dr. Jaime Molina-Ochoa, an Her research here will involve investigating the ecological relationships be- adjunct professor in the Ento- tween corn and the wheat curl mite and its associated viruses. Lindsay was mology Department, has been awarded a Mary and Charles C. Cooper/Emma I. Sharpless Fellowship in recognized as the “Best Pro- the amount of $3,000 for this coming academic year. fessor 2016” at the Univer- sidad de Colima, Tecomán, Eduardo Valentin Cruzado will be working on a masters degree under Colima, México, where Jaime the supervision of Dr. Jeffrey Bradshaw at the PHREC in Scottsbluff, NE. is a veterinarian in the School Eduardo received his bachelor’s degree in agronomy from the University of of Veterinary Medicine and Puerto Rico in 2011. His project will focus on the conservation of beneficial Livestock. Jaime stated in an insects in agricultural landscapes, particularly in dry edible beans. Activities email announcing the award will focus on agricultural practices or management procedures in dry edible “You know very well, the im- beans (through varietal selection, landscape design, etc.) that prepare this portance your contributions environment for resilient and profitable agriculture by maximizing arthropod made in my academic, scien- ecosystem services. tific, and familial life. I want to let you know, that I thank you Clebson dos Cantos Tavares joined Dr. Tom Hunt’s lab (Haskell Ag all forever.” Lab, Concord, NE) as a visiting scholar in June 2016. He received his bachelor’s degree from the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Brazil earlier this year and began a masters program at UFV under the supervi- Jennifer Shaughney will re- sion of Dr. Eliseu José Guedes Pereira (Ph.D. 2006, Siegfried) in March. ceive the Edwards Prize pre- Clebson will be working on a noctuid marking technique while at UNL, a sented for the best published project that also involves another past student, Dr. Silvana Paula-Moraes masters thesis on beetles at (Ph.D. 2012 Hunt, Wright). Silvana works for EMBRAPA Cerrados in Bra- the Coleopterists Annual Meet- silia, Brazil. ing in Orlando, FL next Sep- tember. Jen received her mas- New online masters degree students starting this fall are: Robert Lefevre, ters degree from UNL in 2015, APO, AP; Colin Park, Portland, OR; Krishna Woerheide, Lutsen, MN under the supervision of Dr. Brett Ratcliffe. Justin McMechan and Debora Montezano have each received a David H. & Anne E. Larrick Memorial Student Travel Award. Justin’s award was for travel to the Annual Meeting of the North Central Branch of the ESA held in June. Debora’s award is for travel to the 2016 - XXV International Congress of Entomology in Orlando, FL, Sept. 25 - 29, 2016. Ellis Johnson has been awarded UCARE 2016-2017 funding for his pro- ject, “Importance of Arabidopsis thaliana myzus persicae-induced lipase1 gene in defense against cabbage aphids (Hemiptera)”. Dr. Joe Louis is Ellis’ advisor. Publications Brust, Mathew L. and W. Wyatt Hoback. 2016. Predominately Left-Dominant Man- Blast from the Past dibular Chirality in Coleoptera. The Coleopterist Bulletin 70(1):181-184. Alex Cunningham (M.S. 2006) Esashika, Danilo A.S., Miguel Michereff-Filho, Cristina S. Bastos, Alice K. Inoue- is a Port Identifier for USDA Nagata, Antȏnio M. Dias, and Matheus G.P.M. Ribeiro. 2016. Susceptibility of Bemisia APHIS PPQ in Miami, FL and is currently one of thirteen identifi- tabaci biotype B to insecticides. Hortic. bras. 34(2):189-195. ers in South Florida, and one of Fishilevich, Elane, Ana M. Vélez, Nicholas P. Storer, Huarong Li, Andrew J. Bowling, eight entomologists who work in Murugesan Rangasamy, Sarah E. Worden, Kenneth E. Narva, and Blair D Sieg- Miami’s very busy Pest Identifi- cation Lab.