Newsletter Fall 2005 Entomology@ Purdue Entomology Outreach, Summer 2005 This summer faculty, staff and students Hundreds of spectators gathered twice a day to contributed to the Department’s outreach witness the “greatest spectacle in roach racing.” effort by developing and delivering engaging Spectators applauded while inch-and-a-half formal and informal programs, capitalizing on long American roaches raced around the oval people’s fascination with insects. Their efforts track. Fair goers also enjoyed cheering on their served to promote entomological knowledge favorite university as giant Madagascar hissing What’s Inside and science literacy. Community and state- roaches hitched to miniature tractors, fl ying wide events continued to add to the depart- the fl ags of Purdue, Notre Dame, and Indiana ment’s popularity with the general public and University, competed in a tractor pull. From the Head Bug: the news media. Cricket spitting at the Marsh Grandstand Our Alumni, Our Legacy The Tippecanoe County Butterfl y Count during Purdue Day is always a highlighted was held at the Eli Lilly and Company Wildlife event. Participants discharged nearly 150 Department News Habitat Area in crickets in four Lafayette on July hours with rib- Development Update 16th. Faculty, staff, bons awarded students and vol- to the top four Outreach Update unteers from the finishers in the community gath- junior and senior Entomology Students ered to take a cen- men’s and wom- sus of butterflies en’s divisions. Alumni News within the area, Throughout including butter- the fair, Exotic In- Calendar fly identification sects Education training, natural- Coordinator Jodie ist led walks, and Ellis displayed a picnic. Visit the the department’s following link for professionally more information prepared Emer- 2005 STATE FAIR CRICKET SPITTING STAFF: (clockwise from left) Philip Mor- and to view the re- ton, Jody Green, Brad Barnd, Tom Turpin, and Margaret Schwinghammer. ald Ash Borer ex- sults of the count hibit. The display that were submitted to the North American provided information about emerald ash Butterfl y Association’s annual report: <http:// borer (EAB), an invasive insect from Asia www.entm.purdue.edu/Entomology/ext/Out- that threatens North America’s entire ash tree reach/butterfl y_count/index.html>. resource (Fraxinus spp.). Since its discovery Representatives from the department were in the Detroit/Windsor area in 2002, EAB has present in The Our Land Pavilion during the killed over 15 million ash trees and has since Indiana State Fair (August 10th-21st). Faculty, been detected in northern and central Ohio staff and students provided information on de- and northeast Indiana. This pest is the subject partment research, extension, outreach activi- of a federal eradication program in which all ties and academic programs. Cockroach racing ash trees within ½ mile of an infested tree will and cricket spitting are still popular events that be cut and either destroyed or processed to interest thousands of visitors each year. remove the threat of further spread of EAB. The cockroach races were held daily at Because the display stressed the public’s role Roachhill Downs in The Our Land Pavilion. in slowing this insect’s movement, the State (Continued on page 2) Entomology Purdue @ (Continued from page 1) and the real world to our budding profes- Fair was a good place to introduce Hoosiers sionals. Several alumni contribute as adjunct to the problem. faculty. Current students are future alumni To learn more about emerald ash From the and are eager to learn from their future peers. borer visit: <http://www.entm.purdue.edu/ More than 90% of our graduates pursue a EAB>. To view pictures from the Indiana Head Bug higher degree or move into the workplace. State Fair visit <http://www.entm.purdue. Within a few years, these new alumni typi- edu/Entomology/ext/Outreach/StateFair/ cally move into positions of responsibility stateFair05pics.htm>. and start making names for themselves. “Science on Six Legs: An Insectaganza Our alumni have pursued successful of Education” is another department wide Steve Yaninek careers in all the obvious places in industry, outreach event held in October. Over 1,200 government, and education where entomol- fi fth grade students from area schools were Our Alumni, Our Legacy ogists or someone with a background in the at Purdue for a day-long entomological ex- life sciences would be employed. Quite a few perience. The program included an insect If students are the life-blood of uni- have started successful businesses and some dissection laboratory, a presentation on versities, then alumni are certainly their have moved into noteworthy careers outside insect biology, and a friendly insect quiz legacy, and if the careers of our alumni are of entomology but cherish their training and competition between schools. a measure of our impact as an alma mater, experiences while at Purdue. To encourage an appreciation of insects then we have been very successful. We have Our alumni are outstanding ambassa- for people visiting campus, Tom Turpin outstanding alumni in Entomology, and we dors for the Department and Purdue Uni- is busy transforming his lab in Smith Hall don’t miss an opportunity to talk about their versity. They are generous with their time, into our new outreach center, the “Boiler accomplishments and achievements. talent, and checkbooks. They serve on the Bug Barn.” Visitors will be able to view and I knew a few alumni before I came to Development Council, provide solicited ad- interact with live insects and other arthro- Purdue fi ve years ago. These were individuals vice and feedback on a variety of issues, and pods while they learn about their important whose paths I crossed because of profes- help out wherever they can. Alumni donate role on Earth. sional interests. I have since had the privilege about $10,000 a year in general gifts to the The ceiling and walls of the lab are now of meeting many alumni with a collective department for a variety of student activities. lined with insect lights, artwork, and kites. history that spans more than 60 years, and They have also contributed to new student Live displays will include a beehive, ant I know there are alumni still alive who have scholarships, restoration of the historic colony, crickets, millipedes, and stick insects. been around longer than that. classroom and foyer in the old Entomology Visitors will also have access to a computer The success of our alumni is something Hall, and an endowed professorship to honor that contains educational software. The out- students notice and understand. Current John V. Osmun. This fall an alumnus was reach center will be open in October. students have come to appreciate the career recognized for a major gift to Purdue for a opportunities represented by our alumni new structural biology facility. ~Mike Mullis~ while prospective students have a solid basis We could not be prouder of our alumni, for making informed decisions about their their accomplishments, and all that they future. do for Entomology and Purdue University. Alumni are very interested and support- We hope this newsletter helps keep alumni ive of our students. They give guest lectures, connected and informed about the depart- host workplace visits, share professional ment. Drop us a line we can share if you get experiences, and help future graduates fi nd the chance. internships and new graduates fi nd jobs. They willingly provide advice about careers ~Steve Yaninek~ Department News such as rabies and West Nile virus in Indiana started in June. Prior to coming to Purdue and Ohio. he was a Software Engineer at EDS in Ko- New Staff Janice Van Zee, Cate Hill and Jeff komo, IN. James Kruse also started in June Stuart’s new laboratory technician, started after serving as a computer consultant in St. Joe Caudell joined the Indiana USDA in July and is working on a project to study Charles, Missouri. James brings 20 years ex- APHIS Wildlife Services program in August. tick cytogenetics. Janice is originally from perience in the IT fi eld. Shen Wang, CERIS’ Joe received his BS from the University of Brazil and earned an MS in Agronomy from newest employee, earned a BS in Computer Georgia and his MS and PhD from the Ber- Purdue. Science from Purdue and completed her MS ryman Institute at Utah State University. Joe Three new employees joined the CERIS in Agricultural and Biological Engineering will be working on zoonotic disease issues team as Programmer/Analysts. Mike Hill last May. 2 Entomology@ Purdue Weddings and New Arrivals Genomics Analogy Model for Department Fall Picnic Educators Hongmei Li was married on August 6th to Wayne Byarlay. Hongmei is a PhD candidate studying genetics with Barry Drs. Barry Pittendrigh (MS ’94) and Pittendrigh. Kathryn Orvis (Department of Youth Jennifer and Christian Krupke wel- Development and Agricultural Educa- comed a new son, Sebastian Alexander, on tion and Department of Horticulture and August 10th. Christian is a faculty member Landscape Architecture) are developing a specializing in fi eld crops. teaching methodology for genomics that involves everyday items and concepts (such as Lego® blocks) and familiar concepts DIGGIN’ IN: No room for ants at this picnic! to explain gene sequencing, small-town 2005 Osmun Award Winner library analogy models to explain how cells function, and a football fi eld analogy to ex- plain genomic microarrays. They call this teaching approach the Genomics Analogy Model for Educators or G.A.M.E. for short. They have also been working with Drs. Al Yor k and Chris Oseto (both Professors in Entomology), along with Anne Radavich (graduate student in Entomology), to de- CHEERS: What’s in the cup, John? velop G.A.M.E. teaching approaches for visually impaired and blind students.