[Pollinator] Congratulations to May Berenbaum - Nationl Medal of Science winner!

[Vicki Wojcik]

Congratulations to May Berenbaum for all of her work supporting insects and
pollinators! 

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - University of Illinois professor of entomology
<http://www.life.illinois.edu/entomology/>  May Berenbaum
<http://www.life.illinois.edu/berenbaum/>  has been awarded the National
Medal of Science, the nation's highest honor for achievement and leadership
in advancing the fields of science and technology, according to an
announcement from the White House Press Office.

The National Medal of Science was created in 1959 and is awarded annually to
individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science and
engineering, according to the release.

"Professor Berenbaum's work has fundamentally changed what we know, how we
study and how the public understands the role of insects in nearly every
aspect of human life and development," said Phyllis M. Wise, chancellor of
the Urbana campus. "This is transformative scholarship on a global scale and
has implications for every person on the planet. This is a well-deserved
honor and all of us at Illinois offer Professor Berenbaum our sincerest
congratulations." 

Berenbaum, a Swanlund Chair and the head of the department of entomology,
has been a U. of I. faculty member since 1980. Her research, which studies
the chemical mechanisms underlying interactions between insects and their
host plants, including the detoxification of natural and synthetic
chemicals, has produced hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific publications
and 35 book chapters.

"Through her inspired work on insects, Professor Berenbaum has had an
unparalleled impact on the environmental sciences, with a rare combination
of path-breaking scientific discovery and influential public engagement,"
said Gene Robinson, director of the Institute for Genomic Biology and
Swanlund Chair of Entomology, as well as a long-time colleague of Berenbaum.

A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Berenbaum has chaired two
National Research Council committees, the Committee on the Future of
Pesticides in U.S. Agriculture and the Committee on the Status of
Pollinators in North America.

An academic who is devoted to teaching and fostering scientific literacy
through formal and informal education, Berenbaum also has authored numerous
magazine articles and six books about insects for the general public.

She also created the Insect Fear Film Festival
<http://www.life.illinois.edu/entomology/egsa/ifff.html> , now in its 32nd
year on campus. The festival engages and entertains hundreds of viewers each
year with feature-length films and shorts, commentary on the films, an
insect petting zoo and an insect art contest.

Berenbaum graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in biology from
Yale University in 1975. She earned a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary
biology from Cornell University in 1980.

She and her fellow recipients will receive their medals at a White House
ceremony later this year.

http://news.illinois.edu/news/14/1003NationalMedalOfScience_MayBerenbaum.htm
l 

 

Victoria Wojcik, Ph.D.

Research Director

Pollinator Partnership

423 Washington Street, 5th floor

San Francisco, CA  94111

 

e.  <mailto:vw at pollinator.org> vw at pollinator.org

t. 415-362-1137

w.  <http://www.pollinator.org/> www.pollinator.org 

 

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