Entomology Department Awards & Recognition
2024 Entomology Faculty Awards and RecognitionAward
| Type | Recipients | Description | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| New faculty member | Pin-Chu Lai | Pin-Chu Lai accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Integrated Pest Management at the Panhandle, Research, Extension and Education Center (PHREEC) in Scottsbluff. | Dr. Pin-Chu Lai was named an assistant professor of entomology at the Panhandle, Research, Extension and Education Center (PHREEC) in Scottsbluff. Welcome Dr. Lai! |
| Promotion | Doug Golick | Doug Golick was promoted to full professor of Entomology. | Dr. Doug Golick was promoted to full professor of Entomology. |
| Promotion | Justin McMechan | Justin McMechan was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor of Entomology. | Dr. Justin McMechan was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor of Entomology. |
| Elected | Troy Anderson | Troy Anderson was elected to the American Committee on Medical Entomology (ACME) Council in the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. | Dr. Troy Anderson was elected to the American Committee on Medical Entomology (ACME) Council in the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. |
| Elected | Gary Brewer | Gary Brewer was elected as an Honorary Member of the Entomological Society of America. | Dr. Gary Brewer was elected as an Honorary Member of the Entomological Society of America. |
| Award | Doug Golick | Doug Golick received the 2024 Educational Project Award, Certified Entomologists of Mid-America | Dr. Doug Golick received the 2024 Educational Project Award, Certified Entomologists of Mid-America. |
| Elected | Pritha Kundu | Pritha Kundu was selected as President for the UNL Collective Research Organization of Plant Scientists (CROPS) board. | Dr. Pritha Kundu was selected as President for the UNL Collective Research Organization of Plant Scientists (CROPS) board. |
| Appointment | Louise Lynch-O'Brien | Louise Lynch-O’Brien was appointed a Fellow to the National Strategic Research Institute. | Dr. Louise Lynch-O’Brien was appointed a Fellow to the National Strategic Research Institute. |
| Award | Julie Peterson | Julie Peterson was named 1 of 2 recipients of the North Central Cooperative Extension Assoc’s 2024 Excellence in Extension Award. | Dr. Julie Peterson was named 1 of 2 recipients of the North Central Cooperative Extension Assoc’s 2024 Excellence in Extension Award. |
| Award | Lise Pingault | Lise Pingault was awarded a competitive grant from the UNL Center for Transformative Teaching. | Dr. Lise Pingault was awarded a competitive grant from the UNL Center for Transformative Teaching. |
| Award | Leslie Rault | Leslie Rault was awarded a competitive grant from the UNL Center for Transformative Teaching. | Dr. Leslie Rault was awarded a competitive grant from the UNL Center for Transformative Teaching. |
| Appointment | John Ruberson | John Ruberson was appointed a Fellow to the National Strategic Research Institute. | Dr. John Ruberson was appointed a Fellow to the National Strategic Research Institute. |
| Selected as member | Ana Vélez | Ana Vélez was selected as a member of the 2024-25 cohort of the UNL Research Leaders Program. | Dr. Ana Vélez was selected as a member of the 2024-25 cohort of the UNL Research Leaders Program. |
2024 Entomology Graduate Student Awards and Recognition
| Type | Recipients | Description | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bayer Mentorship program | Sanket Shinde, Ph.D. student mentored by Dr. Joe Louis. | Sanket Shinde was welcomed to the 2024 Bayor Mentorship program. | Sanket Shinde was welcomed to the 2024 Bayor Mentorship program. He will participate in a 2024 internship with Bayer over the summer. |
2023 Department Awards & Recognition
| New administrative appointment | Julie Peterson | Julie Peterson was named Associate Director of the West Central Research, Extension and Education Center (WCREEC) in North Platte. | Julie Peterson was named Associate Director of the West Central Research, Extension and Education Center (WCREEC) in North Platte. |
| Retirement | Lance Meinke | Lance Meinke has retired from being an active faculty member and was approved for emeriti status. | Lance Meinke has retired from being an active faculty member and was approved for emeriti status. |
| Retirement | Brett Ratcliffe | Brett Ratcliffe has retired from being an active faculty member and was approved for emeriti status. | Brett Ratcliffe has retired from being an active faculty member and was approved for emeriti status. |
| Service Awards | Brett Ratcliffe, Bob Wright, Doug Golick, and Joe Louis | Four Entomology Faculty members were recognized for their years of service this year: Brett Ratcliffe, Bob Wright, Doug Golick, and Joe Louis. | Four Entomology Faculty members were recognized for their years of service this year: Brett Ratcliffe (55 years), Bob Wright (35 years), Doug Golick (20 years), and Joe Louis (10 years). |
| Elected | Ana Velez | Ana Velez was elected vice president-elect of the Physiology, Biochemistry & Toxicology Section of the ESA. | Ana Velez was elected vice president-elect of the Physiology, Biochemistry & Toxicology Section of the Entomological Society of America (ESA). |
| Retirement | Gary Hein | Gary Hein has retired from being an active faculty member and was approved for emeriti status. | Gary Hein has retired from being an active Entomology faculty member and was approved for emeriti status. |
| Award | Joe Louis | Joe Louis was selected the 2023 UNL Outstanding Postdoc Mentor Award. | Congratulations to Dr. Joe Louis for being selected as the 2023 UNL Outstanding Postdoc Mentor Award. |
| Publicity | Julie Peterson | Julie Peterson was quoted in the May 15th issue of Knowable Magazine about Bt crops keeping agricultural pests at bay. | Julie Peterson, Entomology Dept., was quoted in a May 15 Knowable article titled “The ever-tenuous success of plants engineered to kill insect foes.” Peterson is among scientists who are disturbed to see the caterpillar-killing toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis so quickly squandered. “Seeing resistance now to these traits can be quite disheartening, because there’s so much promise” for reducing insecticide use, she said. |
| Promoted | Troy Anderson, Julie Peterson and Ana Velez | Troy Anderson, Julie Peterson and Ana Velez were all recommended for promotion by the IANR Vice Chancellor and UNL Chancellor. | Drs. Troy Anderson, Julie Peterson and Ana Velez were all recommended for promotion to the Board of Regents by the IANR Vice Chancellor and UNL Chancellor.
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