A note from Dr. Siegfried

On Friday July 29th, we were visited by Dean Burns, Dean Turner, Dean Place and Vice President Payne for the administrative review of our department.  The only downside to the review was not enough time, but overall, I think we had open and honest discussions and we look forward to seeing their final report soon. Thanks to all our faculty, staff, and students and especially to our stakeholders, who made a special trip to Gainesville, for their efforts to make the administrative review a success. 

There are a few new faces in the department these days. In addition to the new students that will start this fall, Dr. Zane Grabau joined the department in June with a research/Extension appointment as our new field crops nematologist. Also, Dr. Peter Digennaro arrived in late July with a research/teaching appointment in molecular nematology. Please welcome both Zane and Peter to campus.

At the RECs we have had, several new hires for the department! Dr. Johan Desaeger, will join the GCREC where he will develop a nematology program that will support Florida growers and provide them with better tools to manage nematodes. Our own Dr. Jawwad A. Qureshi was selected for a new position as an assistant professor of citrus entomology at the IRREC, near Fort Pierce. Dr. Brian Bahder is joining us at the FLREC to work on insect vectors of plant pathogens. More faculty will be joining us soon!

Although she has not yet arrived, we are pleased to announce that Dr. Bryony Bonning will join the department as an Eminent Scholar with responsibilities to develop novel approaches to citrus pest management. Dr. Bonning is a recognized authority in the development of new technologies for insect control. She brings an outstanding record of accomplishment and cooperation and we are confident she will work tirelessly to develop solutions for citrus pest management and be a strong citizen of the Entomology and Nematology Department, IFAS and the University of Florida.  

The International Congress of Entomology (ICE) will be held in Orlando from September 25th-30th. Because this meeting will be held jointly with the ESA and the Florida Entomological Society (FES), we will hold our annual alumni reception jointly with FES on Monday, September 21st from 6:00 to 7:30 in the Rosen Center Hotel.  Watch for further details in the September Newsletter.

Lastly, but most importantly, we are proud to announce the summer graduation of several of our students. Ph.D. graduates are: Dr. Jeff Hertz and Dr. Chris Holderman.  M.S. graduates are: Abdulhamid Al-Riyami, Lauren Cirino, Jeff Eickwort, Nick Homziak, Shiyao Jiang, Casey Parker, Erin Powell, and Nate Sperry. Our B.S. graduate is Natalie Grand’Bois. Congratulations to all!

~Dr. Blair Siegfried

ABOVE: This spring Dr. Andrea Lucky worked to establish the Insect and Art Trail across campus. She was amazed to add up the numbers and see that a conservative estimate of the number of people who saw these exhibits was over 300,000 between March 15 and July 17, 2016! This included a diverse assortment of people, from students at the libraries, public visitors at the Harn Museum of Art, FLMNH and NATL, to the many K-12 visitors to our department.

The Florida Channel released a report “Bad Bugs”, bringing some of the most destructive pests up close to the eyes of Floridians. The best part of the report – science is up front and center, as the reporters interviewed a number or entomologists, including our own Dr. Jiri Hulcr, Dr. Nan Yao Su, Dr. Daniel Carrillo, and others.

Dr. James P. Cuda was invited by Dr. Valrie Minson, Chair, Marston Science Library, to participate in a  study on research support for agriculture scholars at UF on 21 June. The 60 minute in depth interview explored and identified ongoing research support service needs for his research program.

Dr. Adam Dale wrote an article for the July-August issue of Commercial Clippings, the green industry extension newsletter for Duval, Nassau, and Clay Counties, titled "A framework for sustainable urban plant selection and landscape design."

Congratulations to the Entomology and Nematology majors who made the CALS Dean’s list in Spring 2016. CALS Dean’s List students make a minimum of a 3.7 GPA and are registered for at least 12 credits. We are proud of your academic success!

Kathy Arguez
Paige Carlson
Andrew Nisip**
Sam Pass
Johanna Schwartz
Tyler Shaw
Gabby Steele

In addition Andrew Nisip made the UF President’s List for the Spring 2016 semester! UF President’s List students make a 4.0 GPA and are registered for at least 15 credits.

ABOVE: Craig Bateman, a Ph.D. student advised by Dr. Jiri Hulcr, completed development on one of the first molecular biology labs in Papua New Guinea. The new lab will be used to identify cryptic pests like the coffee berry borer (CBB), and launch research programs on insects and microbes. More importantly, the lab will help prevent CBB, the most damaging insect pest of coffee, from ever becoming established in the country.

Dr. Phil Kaufman and members of his laboratory recognize and congratulate three recent graduates from his program. We wish the best to these three gentlemen and thank their committee members accordingly.

Mr. Robert (Bob) Aldridge completed his MS degree in May 2016 with his thesis entitled "Application Site and Age Parameter Impacts on the Efficacy of Two Topically-Applied Insecticides to Culex quinquefasciatus."  Bob’s other committee members were Dr. Jeff Bloomquist, Dr. Salvador Gezan, and Dr. Ken Linthicum. Bob will continue his education working toward his Ph.D. with Dr. Roxanne Connelly and Dr. Barry Alto.  

Dr. Christopher Holderman graduated in August 2016 with his dissertation entitled "Biology and Ecology of Dog Heartworm Vectors in North Central Florida." Dr. Roxanne Connelly, Dr. Salvador Gezan, Dr. Uli Bernier and Dr. Amy Stone served as committee members. Chris is soon to depart to a post-doctoral opportunity at Kansas State University.  

Dr. Jeff Hertz graduated in August 2016 with his dissertation entitled "Ehrlichia and Rickettsia Tick-Borne Infections Associated with Lone Star Ticks and Under-Sampled Wildlife Hosts in Florida."  Jeff’s other committee members were Dr. Cynthia Lord, Dr. Sandra Allan and Dr. Michael Dark. Jeff is awaiting final orders from the U.S. Navy for his deployment, likely to be overseas.  

Ms. Lauren Cirino, Mr. Paul Joseph, and Mr. Ummat Somjee all from the Miller Lab delivered oral presentations on their research at the Animal Behavior Society meeting in early August in Columbia, MO. The results of Paul's study were covered by NewScientist.com.

Alumni in the news!

Aaron Pomerantz is a finalist in the ESA YouTube your entomology contest! Watch his amazing video!

From the Outreach Coordinator

A big thank you to the students and faculty who volunteered for last month’s outreach events.

• July 12th- Alachua County 4-H Camp tour- Erin Powell and Paul Joseph
• July 18th- Departmental tour- Erin Powell and Matt Moore
• July 27th Girls Technology Camp at Marston Science Library- Dr. Andrea Lucky

Upcoming events

• August 19th- Girl Scouts tour

ABOVE: Savannah Banner, 16, Kaity Eubanks, 11, Taylor Dykes, 14, Jonathon Vonesh, 14, and Will Eubanks, 13, submitted insect collections to Florida’s annual 4-H State Insect Collection Competition. We are very proud of what these young entomologists have accomplished!

The live critters are always a hit with children and adults alike. The critters are available for you to check out should you be leading an outreach event. We have doubles of our most popular critters, as well as various native insect species depending on the time of year. We have large wood and Plexiglas cages for viewing our native orb weaving spiders. There is one travel cage and one larger static cage. Please be sure to contact us and review the protocol on transporting and handling the critters if you are not already familiar with it. If you lead an outreach, be sure to fill out a documentation form so your event can be included in the newsletter and we can log all outreach events.