Awards

Department of Entomology Undergraduates Recognized During Special Reception

May 4, 2017 by Rob Williams

Dr. Jeff Tomberlin at the podium — Dr. Jeff Tomberlin speaking words of encouragement to the audience and to undergraduates. Photo by Rob Williams

COLLEGE STATION, Texas–Several of the Department’s undergraduates received recognition and awards at a special recognition reception on the first floor of the Heep Center on Wednesday, May 3.

Students and faculty members were first treated to food outside Room 103 before the main program started and juniors Tammy Starr and Dayvion Adams welcomed everyone to the event.

After the welcome, guest speaker Dr. Jeffery Tomberlin said a few words of encouragement to the graduating seniors during the keynote address.

Adams then reported highlights from the Undergraduate Entomology Student Organization’s activities during the year while Tammy Starr reported highlights from the Aggie Forensic and Investigative Sciences Organization.

Katie Rowe, right, with Dr. Pete Teel. Photo by Rob Williams

Dr. Pete Teel then announced several scholarships during the awards presentation portion of the reception.

This year’s scholarship recipients are:

Katie Rowe – Burruss McDaniel/Entomology Systematics Scholarship
Lindsay Akers – Roger Walker Meola Memorial Scholarship
Jeremy Arnold – Fowden G. and Katherine G. Maxwell Scholarship
Franchesca Rodriguez – Honorah A. Dore Scholarship
Brice Phillips – Paul Truman Riherd Memorial Scholarship
Marina Connor – Dr. Manning A. Price Scholarship
Emily Parsoneault – Dr. Micky Eubanks Outstanding Faculty Scholarship
Mya Gates – Dial and Eva Martin Memorial Scholarship
Jacob Underwood – Perry L. Adkisson Scholarship
Calli Allison- Len P. Quattrochi Memorial Scholarships
Marina Connor, right, with Dr. Pete Teel. Photo by Rob Williams

The 2017-2018 cohorts of the Department’s Entomology Scholars Society also announced. The Entomology Scholars Society was developed to help current students to expand their leadership and outreach skills though the enhancement of various departmental events. Members serve as liaisons between faculty, staff, and prospective students and represent the Department by serving as hosts to prospective students, parents, and other campus visitors.

The 2017-2018 Entomology Scholars Society. From left to right: Dayvion Adams, Franchesca Rodriguez, Fatimah Bouderdaben, Mya Gates, Nicholas Richter, and Kejaun Tate.. — The 2017-2018 Entomology Scholars Society. From left to right: Dayvion Adams, Franchesca Rodriguez, Fatimah Bouderdaben, Mya Gates, Nicholas Richter, and Kejaun Tate. Photo by Rob Williams.

The 2017-2018 Scholars are:

Dayvion Adams
Franchesca Rodriguez
Fatimah Bouderdaben
Mya Gates
Nicholas Richter
Kejaun Tate
Dr. Jim Woolley, right, with UESO president Dayvion Adams, left. Photo by Rob Williams

Dr. Jim Woolley received the Outstanding Professor of the Year award while Ashleigh Faris received Outstanding Teaching Assistant for Forensics while Chloe Hawkings received the Outstanding Teaching Assistant for Entomology.

The 2017-2018 officers for both AFIS and UESO were announced during the end of the ceremony.

Ashleigh Faris, right, with Tammy Starr, AFISO president, left.

AFIS officers are:

Tammy Starr – President
Fatimah Bouderdaben – Vice President
Adriana Peterson – Treasurer
Katie McLeod – Secretary
Mya Gates-Historian
Skylar Huddleston – Activities Coordinator
Chloë Hawkings, right, with Dayvion Adams. UESO president, left.

UESO officers are:

Isaac Luna – President
Jefferey Barbosa – Vice President
Myra Rodgers – Treasurer
Katie Rowe-Webmaster/Outreach Coordinator

Kilpatrick Receives 2017 COALS Senior Merit Award

April 20, 2017 by Rob Williams

Dr. Ragsdale, left, with Shelby Kilpatrick, center, and Rebecca Hapes, right. Shelby is one holding award. — Shelby Kilpatrick, center, with Department Head Dr. David Ragsdale, left, and Senior Academic Advisor II Rebecca Hapes. Photo by Scott Kilpatrick

COLLEGE STATION, Texas—Shelby Kilpatrick’s hard work and dedication is paying off well as she received the College of Agriculture of Life Sciences’ Senior Merit Award during the College’s Spring Convocation on Saturday, April 8.

Kilpatrick is a senior Entomology and Agricultural Leadership and Development double major. She is a very active member of the Department’s Undergraduate Entomology Student Organization, where she served as Outreach Coordinator in 2015-2016 and Secretary and Webmaster in 2014-2015.

As the UESO’s Outreach Coordinator, she was responsible for coordinating volunteers for various outreach programs, such as with local schools and events, Aggieland Saturday, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ annual Tailgate, and the Department’s 4-H and FFA Insect Identification clinic. Since joining UESO in Fall 2013, she has coordinated over 22 outreach programs impacting more than 19,000 people and 2 club programs, and helped with coordinating 2 honey sales fundraisers.

Kilpatrick is also an active member of the TAMU Collegiate 4-H Club and the Horticulture Club. She served as the Collegiate 4-H Club’s President in 2015-2016 and Public Relations officer in 2014-2015. As a member of the 4-H club, she coordinated and led 8 club promotional events and volunteered at Texas 4-H Teen Retreat, Texas 4-H Roundup events, and the Beefmasters Programs. As a member of the Horticulture Club, Kilpatrick has helped plan and implement the Fall Pecan Sale, Pecan Tree Repotting, and the Spring Plant Fair.

Since 2014, Kilpatrick has been actively involved with the Department of Entomology’s Scholars Society, where she serves as an ambassador, assisting more than 162 prospective students during 20 conferences that were held during the summers of 2014 and 2015.

She also is involved in several community service activities, including volunteering at the Brazos Valley Food Bank in 2016, where she helped fill backpacks, bags and family boxes with food to be distributed to area families. She also educates citizens about safe, sustainable, and effective horticultural practices to promote healthy gardens, landscapes, and communities.

Kilpatrick served as an undergraduate student instructor during the current spring semester for the Biodiversity and Biology of Insects course (ENTO 301/602) and has worked on various research projects as an undergraduate honors student researcher, including studying density-dependent phenotypic plasticity in Schistocerca lineata, the biology and behavior of lacewings, sodium regulation in Schistocerca americana, and the effectiveness of traps for horse and deer flies.

Kilpatrick was most noted in her research studies in 2015 as she discovered a new species of halictid bee during a summer study abroad program in Dominica. Her discovery was a separate study that was featured in a paper written by Dr. Jason Gibbs of Michigan State University, as well as the species being named in her honor.

She has received numerous awards for her research, including first place for presentations at the 2017 Ecological Integration Symposium in March and second place at the 2017 Southwestern Branch Meeting of the Entomological Society of America (ESA) in April. In 2016, Kilpatrick also received first place for her presentations at the International Congress of Entomology and National ESA Meeting, the Southwestern Branch ESA Meeting and the TAMU Ecological Integration Symposium. She also received the 2016 College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Award in the Undergraduate Research Category and the 2015 Class Stars Award in the 2017 Academics Category.

Kilpatrick was recently honored with the Percival Scientific Undergraduate Entomology Student Award as well as the Undergraduate Student Achievement in Entomology Award at the 2017 Southwestern Branch ESA Meeting. She has also helped the TAMU Undergraduate Linnaean Games Team receive 2^nd place both in 2016 and 2017 at the Southwestern Branch ESA Meetings.

Students Receive Awards for Research at Ecological Integration Symposium

April 12, 2017 by Rob Williams

Shelby Kilpatrick and Tyler Raszick standing with award certificates — Shelby Kilpatrick and Tyler Raszick. Photo by Rob Williams

Congratulations to senior Shelby Kilpatrick and Ph.D. student Tyler Raszick on receiving top awards during the 2017 Ecological Integration Symposium held on Friday, March 24.

Kilpatrick tied for first place in the Undergraduate Oral Presentation category. Kilpatrick’s presentation was titled “Density-dependent phenotypic plasticity in Schistocerca lineata Scudder, 1899 (Orthoptera: Acrididae)”

Kilpatrick is an Entomology and Agricultural Leadership and Development double major and works in Dr. Hojun Song’s lab.

Raszick tied for first place in the Graduate Oral Presentation category with his presentation titled “Boll Weevil (Antonomous grandis) population genomics as a tool for monitoring and management.”

Raszick is currently mentored by Dr. Gregory Sword.

Department Names Frank Zalom as 2017 Adkisson Distinguished Seminar Speaker

March 31, 2017 by Rob Williams

Dr. Frank Zalom, right, with Dr. David Ragsdale, Professor and Department Head

COLLEGE STATION, Texas—The Department of Entomology recently announced Dr. Frank Zalom as the recipient of the 2017 Dr. Perry Adkisson Distinguished Seminar Speaker Award during a special seminar that was held on Thursday, March 30.

Zalom is a Distinguished Professor at the University of California – Davis and has appointment as an Agricultural Experiment Station and Extension Specialist for the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. He teaches arthropod pest management and conducts research on integrated pest management (IPM) on vine, tree, and small fruits and vegetable crops.

Zalom provides leadership national and has served as Co-Chair of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities’ National IPM Committee from 1999-2015. He also has served as an IPM representative to the ESCOP Science and Technology Committee since 2003, USDA Western Region IPM Competitive Grants Program Manager for 10 years, and served on the USAID Board of Directors for the IPM CRSP from 2001-2005.

Before coming to UC-Davis, Zalom worked briefly as a postdoctoral research associate at UC-Berkeley in the late 1970s, and was an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota, where he taught Economic Entomology and Insects in Relation to Plant Disease, as well as conducted research on insect vectors of plant diseases. In 1980, he returned to University of California as an Extension IPM Coordinator and served as UCIPM’s Associate Director for Research and then Director for 16 years before returning to UC-Davis’ Department of Entomology in 2002. Zalom was also Vice Chair of the Department from 2005-2008.

Zalom is a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, the Entomological Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Royal Entomological Society. Some of the most recent awards Zalom received included the Entomological Foundation IPM Team Award, the Entomological Foundation Excellence in IPM Award, and the Outstanding Mentor Award from the UC Davis Consortium for Women and Research.

Zalom served numerous leadership roles in the Entomological Society of America national organization, including President in 2014, Vice President-Elect and vice president in 2012. He also served as the President of the Entomological Foundation, and continues to serve as a member of the Entomological Foundation’s Board of Directors and the ESA’s Science Policy Committee.

He has authored over 335 peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and books, and has served as Major Professor for 12 Ph.D. students and seven Master’s students.

The award is named for Dr. Perry Adkisson, former head of the Department and of the Texas A&M University Chancellor. During his career, Adkisson was an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, and the first ever recipient of all three of the world’s major prizes in agriculture, the Alexander von Humboldt Award, the Wolf Prize, and the World Food Prize. Along with Dr. Ray Smith, he developed what is now known as IPM or Integrated Pest Management.

Student Team Wins Best Policy Proposal during SCONA Conference

March 1, 2017 by Rob Williams

Shelby Kilpatrick. Photo by Rob Williams

Congratulations to Senior Entomology Shelby Kilpatrick as she was involved in a team that received Best Policy Proposal during the 62^nd meeting of the MSC Student Conference on National Affairs (SCONA).

Kilpatrick was one of 196 delegates that were divided into 17 roundtable discussion groups during the annual conference held on February 14-18. The team was tasked to collaborate and write a policy proposal within 60 hours addressing a topic of national importance, such as homeland security, the environment, epidemics and public health, and cybersecurity.

The team she was in was called “Mother Nature and Uncle Sam: Environmental Issues of the 21^st Century,” in which they focused on solving issues concerning the environment, specifically looking at how the impact of climate change is affecting humanity today. The team’s proposal focused on finding how the United States can diversify energy sources to include renewable energy, such as wind and solar, to help us become less dependent on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Kilpatrick said that developing resilience in the coastal infrastructure from rising sea levels and natural disasters in the United States would help to protect our national security in the areas of environmental and energy policy.

Kilpatrick was excited to win the award and said it was a great learning experience being in the group.

“I was a little surprised, but very pleased when I was told that my roundtable group’s policy proposal had received the Best Policy Proposal Award for the conference,” Kilpatrick said. “There were 17 roundtables in total, each with their own proposal, and my group had thought early on that it would be difficult for us to win with the topic of climate change as it can be a politically polarized topic. This influenced how we approached the issue of climate change in our paper since it needed to appeal to a wide audience.”

Kilpatrick’s group also had to make sure that there was a connection between what they covered connected with the theme of this year’s SCONA: Against All Enemies, Foreign and Domestic: Securing the Homeland.

“We also had the challenge of making clear connections between our issue and national security as other roundtables were focused on issues related to public health, cybersecurity, the military, the economy, and the media, which all have fairly obvious relationships to the security of our country,” she said. “It was a privilege to work with my roundtable group as a team to achieve this result!”

Kilpatrick wanted to join the roundtable to help further her interest in environmental issues as well as contribute to efforts to preserve the environment.

“I felt that the knowledge and experiences I had related to the topic would allow me to contribute effectively to group discussion and make a positive impact,” she said. “I also knew that I would have the opportunity to learn more from others in the group as there are many subtopics of environmental concerns in today’s society.”

Kilpatrick loved the collaboration aspect of the conference and that everyone was focused on solving the issues at hand. “My favorite part of attending SCONA was the opportunity to experience a group of people coming together and, without any prior team building activities, immediately begin to work on solving an issue that affects us all,” she said. “It was amazing to see everyone’s particular interests, their passion in environmental issues, and how much effort we all put into our finished policy proposal and presentation come together.”

The teamwork and problem solving Kilpatrick learned during the roundtable sessions will definitely help her with her coursework and going forward in her career.

“These experiences will help me in my coursework this semester as I have several group projects and other leadership assignments that will rely on effective communication, teamwork strategies, critical thinking, and problem solving,” Kilpatrick said.