A note from Dr. Siegfried

It is just over a year since I interviewed for Department Chair, and I just completed my second month on the job. It seems like a good time to share some of the things that I’ve observed and that have occupied my time.

Grants:  I have been delighted to see the activity around Virni Mattson’s desk (although she may have a different view). When I interviewed for the position, I made a strong pitch for being aggressive and creative in obtaining funds to support our programs.  I believe that this commitment is essential to our long-term well-being and look forward to working with everyone in continuing to make this a priority at all levels for our organization.  Sorry Virni!

New positions:  I knew that I would have my work cut out for me when I heard about the new positions for the department. What I did not anticipate was the magnitude of our hiring.  While some of the positions to be filled will be replacements, by my count, we will be hiring 14 new people to the department and across the state in the next year. To put this in perspective, the University of Nebraska has only 17 members in the whole department! The first two interviews for on-campus positions have been completed, and I look forward to seeing some new faces around the department in the near future. I appreciate all the efforts of our office staff, especially Glinda Burnett and Nancy Sanders, for scheduling, making sure refreshments were available and in general, making the process work smoothly! I would also like to thank the search committees and chairs for identifying and inviting quality candidates.  

Seminar: I turned up 10 minutes late for the first seminar and spent the next 50 minutes standing in the hallway trying to peek inside! I quickly learned to show up early and was very pleased to see that interest in our seminar was consistent throughout the remainder of the semester. I believe that the departmental seminar should be part of our culture and be consistently attended by all. It is an opportunity for us to learn what happens outside the department and for us to make a good impression on our visitors.  I look forward to working with Dr. Jiri Hulcr and future seminar coordinators in developing a strong tradition around seminar.

Overall, it has been a pretty incredible year and exciting two months of learning and getting to know everyone. I will continue to try and provide updates through the newsletter, but do not hesitate to stop by and say hello when it is convenient.

~Dr. Blair Siegfried

ABOVE: Dr. Oscar Liburd was an invited speaker in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Nigerian Entomological Society (October 6-9). His talk was titled "Mitigation factors to reduce farmers reliance on toxic pesticides."  He received a plaque from the Nigerian Entomological Society honoring his work to reduce pesticide inputs on farms in developing countries.

Dr. Christine W. Miller and Dr. Andrea Lucky have been denoted a UF Global Fellow for 2016. The UFIC Global Fellows Program provides workshops and travel funds to help faculty advance an international research agenda.

Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman has been in the news for her work with Florida olive producers. She also had the opportunity to address the North Florida Congressional representative's staff and aides from Washington DC, on of November 12th at PSREU in Citra.

Would you like to be an Assistant Professor in Plant Disease Vector Entomology? We have 10 faculty positions available now! Know someone who wants a ‪#‎UFBugs‬ job? Share this link with people you would like to have as members of our team.

ABOVE: Dr. James P. Cuda returned to Gainesville on November 2nd after spending the last two months (September and October) in Brazil on a sabbatical that was funded by a Fulbright Scholarship. Dr. Cuda conducted field research on Brazilian peppertree and also delivered an invited lecture on weed biological control to a group of 30 forest engineering students at the Universidade Regional de Blumenau.  

Dr. Xavier Martini a Postdoctoral Associate at the Citrus Research and Education Center is the inaugural recipient of the Postdoc of the Month Award presented by the Postdoc Journal, a Journal of Postdoctoral Research and Postdoctoral Affairs.

ABOVE: Students taking Dr. Tesfa Mengistu's Nematode Diagnostics course this Fall traveled to Avon Park, in Central Florida, located in the heart of Florida’s citrus production area. The group was received by Nematologist, Dr. Larry Duncan (Citrus Research and Education Center, Lake Alfred). Dr. Duncan took the group to a commercial citrus grove where he gave a small lecture about nematode species of major economic importance in Florida. These include the citrus nematode (Tylenchulus semipenetrans), causal agent of slow decline, the burrowing nematode (Radopholus similis), causal agent of spreading decline, and the lesion nematode (Pratylenchus coffeae), causal agent of citrus slump. Dr. Duncan emphasized the importance of good cultural practices. He also demonstrated the collection of representative samples for the best estimate of plant-parasitic nematode populations in citrus groves.

From the Outreach Coordinator

A big thank you to the students and faculty who volunteered for our October outreach events.

• 1 October- Education Open House at FLMNH- Oliver Keller and Erin Powell
• 9 October- Homeschool Group Department Tour- Katherine Arguez and Erin Powell
• 14 October- Heart Pine Elementary School- Oliver Keller and Erin Powell
• 23 October- Kanapaha Middle School Career Day- Jeff Hertz
• 28 October- Classical Conversations Homeschool Group- Patricia Prade and Jennifer Serviss
• 29 October- My School Preschool- Dr. Rebecca Baldwin
• 29 October- Education Station and Preschool- Ashley Mortensen

Upcoming events:

• 21 November- Camp Shands Boy Scout Event
• 4 December- YOPP Inc. science days

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.