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Rob Williams

Department Honors Dr. Brad Vinson’s Retirement with Special Reception

January 25, 2016 by Rob Williams

Dr. Brad Vinson, right, stands with Entomology Department Head Dr. David Ragsdale, left, during a special ceremony honoring Vinson's retirement. Vinson will be retiring from the Department on January 31.
Dr. Brad Vinson, right, stands with Entomology Department Head Dr. David Ragsdale, left, during a special ceremony honoring Vinson’s retirement. Vinson will be retiring from the Department on January 31.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas—Friends and family from far and near gathered at the fourth floor atrium to recognize the achievements of Dr. Brad Vinson as he retires from the University after 47 years of employment on January 31.

Vinson began his career here at Texas A&M in 1969 after working at Mississippi State as an associate professor.

“Most of us are standing on the shoulders of giants-those remarkable scientists who had a vision of where to lead the rest of us,” said Entomology Department Head Dr. David Ragsdale. “Dr. Brad Vinson is one of those giants.”

During his career, Vinson has published more than 680 scholarly publications over his career, which spans more than 50 years total. Ragsdale noted that one publication was cited 926 times and that over his career he has over 18,000 total citations.

Vinson has mentored 76 graduate students during his employment, including 32 Masters and 44 Ph.D. students, 44 postdoctoral research associates, and 17 visiting scholars.

Vinson was elected as a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America in 1995 and was recently awarded the Distinguished Research Medal by the International Society of Hymenopterists in 2013. In addition, Ragsdale said that Vinson also won more than 20 other awards from several countries including Japan and Italy.

Vinson also was named a Senior Faculty Fellow by Texas A&M AgriLife Research, formerly known as the Texas A&M Agricultural Experiment Station, in 1998 and 2005. He also was a founding member of the Entomophagous Insects Workshop. In total Dr. Vinson has given over 200 invited and voluntary presentations at various symposia and scientific conferences.

Among his many accomplishments, Vinson is known throughout the world for his work on physiological ecology of parasitic wasps, including polydnaviruses, which are viruses that are injected along with venom and an egg into a host caterpillar. These viruses prevents the caterpillar’s immune system from attaching the wasp’s egg when the host is stung.

Other projects Vinson has contributed to included work on chemical communication between hosts and their natural enemies in the form of pheromones, various aspects of reproductive biology, tritrophic interactions between parasitoids, their host insects and host plants the pest species is feeding upon. There are chemical signals such as those used for host location and host acceptance, and in vitro rearing of parasitoids.

In addition, he has conducted largely independent research programs on the ecology and biology of red imported fire ants and the field ecology of solitary bees inhabiting the forests of Costa Rica. His latest projects include writing a book about the use of Trichogramma wasps, tiny stingless wasps that parasitize other insects’ eggs and he collaborating with colleagues in the College of Engineering on a research project involving cockroaches serving as as drones.

Vinson received his Bachelor of Science degree at The Ohio State University and his Ph.D. at Mississippi State University.

“I really had a great time here partly because of my colleagues here and our great students. I couldn’t have done it without the students,” Vinson said, praising the students that he has worked with during his career. “We are very fortunate to have great students. They have done very, very well. It is because all of you people educating them well and we got them excited about research. It has really made a big difference in my life and I’m very pleased to have been here and it’s really made me get where I am at and wouldn’t have done it without all you helping out.”

 

Entomology Faculty, Staff Receive Superior Service, Vice Chancellor Awards During Conference

January 15, 2016 by Rob Williams

Texas Sugarcane Aphid Team
The Texas Sugarcane Aphid Team. From left to right: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Director Dr. Doug Steele, Mo Way, Raul Villanueva, Enrique Perez, Brad Cowan, and Stephen Biles. Photo by Rob Williams.

BRYAN – Several members of the Department of Entomology started the New Year off right after they received awards at both the Superior Service Awards dinner and Vice Chancellor’s Awards in Excellence

The first award was a Superior Service Award in the Team category that was given to the Texas Sugarcane Aphid Team for their efforts in staving off a statewide disaster that came from sugarcane aphids, one of the worst pests to ever threaten the sorghum industry, and prevented millions of dollars in damage to crops across the state.

By the fall of 2013, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and Texas A&M AgriLife Research had organized an immense research and educational effort to thwart the pest.

When grain sorghum was harvested in 2014 in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, it was evident the effort had paid off. Texas Grain Sorghum Producers reported that the Sugarcane Aphid Team prevented crop loss with an estimated value of $160 million.

Similar research and educational work on the Texas High Plains in 2015 is reported to have prevented an additional $100 million in grain sorghum losses. The work is expected to continue, thus providing further benefits to sorghum growers, the nomination said.

The team members included Extension Entomologists Dr. Raul Villanueva (Weslaco), Dr. Allen Knutson (Dallas), Dr. Pat Porter (Lubbock), Dr. Ed Bynum (Amarillo), Dr. Robert Bowling (Corpus Christi), postdoctoral AgriLife Extension assistants Gabriela Esparza-Diaz, and Beto Garza of Weslaco.

Extension Agents-IPM included Danielle Sekula-Ortiz (Weslaco), Stephen Biles (Port Lavaca), Blayne Reed (Plainview), Tommy Doederlein (Lamesa), and Kerry Siders (Levelland). Other recipients included Extension agents Jason Ott (Nueces County), Brad Cowan (Hidalgo County), Enrique Perez (Cameron County), and

Additional team members by entity were:

  • Texas A&M AgriLife Research: Dr. Mike Brewer, entomologist, Corpus Christi; Dr. Mo Way, entomologist, Beaumont; Dr. Gary Odvody, plant pathologist, Corpus Christi; and Dr. Gary Peterson, agronomist, Lubbock.
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service: Dr. Scott Armstrong, entomologist, Stillwater, Oklahoma.
  • Cotton and Grain Producers of the Lower Rio Grande Valley: Dr. Webb Wallace, executive director, Harlingen.
  • United Sorghum Checkoff: Dr. Brent Bean, agronomist, Lubbock.
  • Cooperators: Chris Bauer, Montimer Cabrera, David and Fontis Newell, Dennis Ball, Sam Simmons, Sam Sparks, Randy Cook, Shane Blount and Ronald Groves.
  • Crop Consultants: John Norman, Weslaco; Jim Trolinger and Mike Grey, both of Harlingen.
Superior Service-Strawberry Team - 375px
The Texas Strawberry Project Team: Back row (from left to right): Robert (Skip) Richter, Laura Miller, Keith Hanson, Billy Lawton, Peter Ampim and Erfan Vafaie. Front Row: Mengmeng Gu, David Rodriguez, Monte Nesbitt, Daphne Richards, Russ Wallace, Kevin Ong, and Larry Stein. Photo by Rob Williams

The Texas Strawberry Project Team received the second Superior Service Award in the Team category. They were awarded for their work in helping to increase strawberry production in the state.

The team included Extension Program Specialist Erfan Vafaie and Extension Entomologist Dr. Pat Porter, consisted of more than 50 growers, and is a collaborative effort among AgriLife Extension, the lead agency, Prairie View A&M University and Texas A&M AgriLife Research, according to the nomination.

“The objectives were achieved through unprecedented team collaboration by engaging growers and industry stakeholders,” the nomination said.

In 2012, Dr. Russ Wallace, AgriLife Extension horticulturist at Lubbock, had preliminary data suggesting strawberries could be a profitable crop in Texas for small acreage and limited-resource growers. The nomination said that, with faculty collaborators, he has led an immense effort to offer grower training opportunities and increase strawberry production sustainability statewide.

The Walmart Foundation provides funds under the direction of the National Strawberry Sustainability Initiative and the University of Arkansas. As a result of the project, locally grown strawberries are increasingly in high demand in Texas, the nomination noted.

IMG_0661
Lubbock Cropping Systems Research Team. From left to right are: Jane Dever, Terry Wheeler, Megha Parajulee, Wayne Keeling, James Bordovsky, and Jason Woodward. Photo by Rob Williams.

Members of the Lubbock Cropping Systems Research Team, which includes Professor, Faculty Fellow, and Texas A&M Regents Fellow Dr. Megha Parajulee, received a Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence in the collaboration category for their efforts in helping crop producers in improving their crops.

According to the nomination, the team was assembled to address the unique crop production challenges producers face on the Texas High Plains. Their objective has been to address important cotton production decision making issues at the farm level. The overall goal has been to assure profitability and future viability of cotton production in the Texas High Plains.

A notable achievement from the team included successfully partnering with Lamesa Cotton growers in utilizing their 160-acre farm for long-term research for over two decades. The partnership has allowed the scientists to expand their research from the small-plot level to larger scale experiments to demonstrate the outcomes to farmers. The team’s success led to the establishment of the Helms Farm in Hale County in 1999 and to the 2008 purchase of additional land and the installation of 22 acres of drip irrigation in Hale County.

“The producer-led initiatives in securing these research sites indicate producers’ enthusiasm and confidence in our scientists working as a team to provide additionally sound and economically viable production systems,” Moore wrote.

Department Hires Research, Extension Faculty Members

January 6, 2016 by Rob Williams

Badillo working in greenhouse
Ismael Badillo-Vargas working in the greenhouse. Submitted photo.

The Department of Entomology, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension would like to welcome Dr. Ismael Badillo-Vargas and Suhas Vyavhare to its faculty roster.

Badillo-Vargas will start on February 1 as the newest vector entomologist for the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center in Weslaco while Vyavhare will start February 1 as an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Lubbock.

Badillo-Vargas was born and raised in Puerto Rico and graduated from the University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez with a Bachelor of Science in Crop Protection, a Master of Science in Plant Pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Kansas State University.

Before coming to Texas A&M, Badillo-Vargas was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Kansas State and then moved to the University of Florida where he was a postdoctoral research associate within a partnership with the university and the US Department of Agriculture’s Horticultural Research in Fort Pierce. At Florida, he continued studying the interactions between insects and the plant pathogens they transmit and characterizing emerging and re-emerging plant viruses in vegetables.

The overarching goal of his program will be to seek to combine basic and applied research to understand the fundamental aspects that underline the intrinsic plant-insect vector-pathogen interactions. He wants to be able to develop novel strategies, coupled with more conventional approaches, can become the basis of sound integrated management programs to support growers. These programs can not only support the growers, but can also strengthen the economy and promote a healthier environment, he said.

“The Lower Rio Grande Valley offers a perfect scenario with a number of different pathosystems that involve insect vectors as the main or only mean of transmission of plant pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and fungi that cause serious problems in both agricultural and natural ecosystems,” Badillo-Vargas said. “Studying and fighting off the insect vectors and plant pathogens they transmit is essential to achieve food security while preserving our natural resources and promoting human and animal health.”

“I am very excited to be joining the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco and the Department of Entomology at TAMU to develop a productive and innovative Insect Vector Biology program,” he added.

Suhas working in the lab
Suhas Vyavhare working in the lab. Photo by Rob Williams.

Vyavhare received his bachelor’s in agriculture from the College of Agriculture Pune, India and master’s in Plant, Soil, and Environmental Science from West Texas A&M University. Vyavhare then graduated with his Ph.D. in Entomology from Texas A&M in 2014.

During the time he was at Beaumont, he was in charge of implementing, managing and supervising applied research addressing entomological issues in soybeans, rice, sugar cane, and sorghum. Vyavhare also designed and conducted various field trials evaluating biological performance of crop protection products.

Vyavhare has developed a research proposal that secured funding from the USDA to investigate the susceptibility of insecticides and esterase activity in the red-banded stink as a graduate research assistant from 2010-2014. Vyavhare taught Medina’s Principles of Insect Pest Management (ENTO 401) class during the fall of 2013.

Vyavhare received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the Mahatma Phule Agricultural University in Rahuri, India and his Master of Science in Plant, Soil and Environmental Science from West Texas A&M University. He then received his Ph.D. in Entomology from Texas A&M in 2014.

Department Reaches Out To Local Family During Holiday Season

December 23, 2015 by Rob Williams

Gifts under a treeDuring this December, the Department of Entomology “adopted” a family this holiday season that needed our help to make their Christmas special.

This year’s Christmas Wish List for the Adopted Family was very successful. The gifts were delivered Thursday afternoon, December 17, 2015 to a local family.

The family they chose consisted of a 4-year-old boy, 5-year-old boy, 7-year-old girl, 9-year-old boy, 10-year-old boy, 12 year-old girl, and their mother. With the gifts and donations given the department was able to provide each child with a pair of clothes, a coat, and a pair of shoes, a toy, and a book. In addition, they were also able to buy a few necessities for the mother of the children.

The Department would like to thank you for your support and donations this holiday season and for another successful year.

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

 

Congratulations Fall 2015 Graduates!!

December 18, 2015 by Rob Williams

Graduation 3-Cover
Fall 2015 Graduates. From left to right, Yaziri Gonzales, Sergio Lopez, Philip Shults, Joshua Thomas, and Kelly Marshall. Photo by Ann Pool.

Several  students will be getting an early Christmas gift this December as they are expected to walk the stage for fall commencement at Reed Arena on Friday, December 18.

A total of 22 students joined thousands of students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences during the 9am commencement ceremony.

“We congratulate all of today’s graduates and the family and friends who will be celebrating the achievements of their loved ones. We are so proud of all they have accomplished,” said Entomology Department Head Dr. David Ragsdale.

Congratulations to all and good luck on your futures!!

Undergraduates

Yaziri Gonzales Entomology
Kelly Lynn  Marshall Forensic and Investigative Sciences-Law Emphasis,
Psychology minor
Lindsey Hattaway Biomedical Sciences and Entomology Double Major
David Maxwell Hagler Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences and Entomology Double Major
James Christian Sanchez Biomedical Sciences and Entomology Double Major
Kalyn Jae Weiss Biomedical Sciences and Entomology Double Major
Joseph Emanuel Melancon Horticulture Sciences and Entomology Double Major
Keith Ewell Tamborello Horticulture Sciences and Entomology Double Major
Carlos Brionez University Studies-Veterinary Medicine Major, Entomology Minor
Natalie Megan Gabler University Studies-Veterinary Medicine Major, Entomology Minor

Graduate Students – Master of Science

Paula Andrea Castillo Bravo Entomology
Lauren Kalns Entomology
Sergio Lopez Entomology
Phillip Thomas Shults Entomology
Joshua Kellogg Thomas Entomology
Yu Wang Entomology

Graduate Students – Ph. D.

Luciano Cosme Entomology
Wenqing Zhou Entomology

Certification in Public Health Entomology

Jessica Herrin
Kara Moncada
Yaziri Gonzalez
William Smithee
Carlos Briones, Jr.
Lauren DelMastro
Katherine Utech
Lindsey Hattaway
James Sanchez
Kallie McWhinney
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