- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Integrated management specialist Frank Zalom, president of the 7000-member Entomological Society of America (ESA), and a distinguished professor in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will invite the attendees to the 62nd annual ESA meeting, to be held Nov. 16-19 in Portland, Ore. He will spotlight the events planned; the theme is “Grand Challenges Beyond Our Horizons.”
Chemical ecologist Walter Leal, professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and co-chair of the 2016 International Congress of Entomology (ICE 2016), will give two presentations at the opening ceremony: the plenary lecture and a talk on ICE 2016. He will invite the Brazilian Congress to attend ICE 2016, to be held Sept. 25-30, 2016 in Orlando, Fla. It promises to be the world's largest gathering entomologists.
Both Zalom and Leal are fellows of ESA.
ESA Vice President Phil Mulder, professor and head of the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Oklahoma State University, will assist at the EntomoQuiz competition. Mulder has served as Gamesmaster for many years at ESA meetings. As an entomology student in the 1980s, he was one of the first to compete in the Linnaean Games.
ESA also will gift the Brazilian entomologists with buzzers, timers, and other equipment needed for the competition.
"The Brazilian Congresses of Entomology are some of the largest gatherings of entomologists in the world, and usually more than 50 percent of the delegates are students," said Pedro Neves, president of the Entomological Society of Brazil. "Therefore, we greatly appreciate the gift and help from ESA."
"ESA is proud to present Linnaean Games equipment to the Entomological Society of Brazil for their EntomoQuiz competition," said Zalom. "We hope that their games will be as fun and as successful as ours have been, and that they will carry on the tradition as we have for decades."
Also at the Brazilian meeting, Zalom will give a presentation on the North American invasion of the spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, during a symposium on invasive insects.
Zalom, Mulder and ESA Past Presidents Rob Wiedenmann and Grayson Brown will participate at a joint meeting between the American and Brazilian entomological societies to discuss future projects and collaborations, including the identification of grand challenges for entomologists in the coming decade.
"This is one of the most important steps towards strengthening the relations between the two societies," said Antônio R. Panizzi, past president of the Brazilian society and moderator of the symposium.
(Editor's Note: Richard Levine of ESA contributed to this news release)