DAVIS--How much do you know about native bees?

The Davis Science Collective, a group of STEM graduate students at the University of California, Davis who like to get together and do science outreach in their spare time, will host a free  "Native Bee Day" from 2 to 4 p.m., Saturday, April 23 at the Mary L. Stephens Branch of the Yolo County Public Library, 315 E. 14th St., Davis.

UC Davis graduate student Shahla Farzan says a variety of activities and live demonstrations will be offered, including:

• Pollen display
• Live mason bees and carpenter bees
• Bees vs. flies vs. wasps: What's the difference?
• How does pollination work?
• Bees of the world, courtesy of the Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis.

“It's more of an interactive event geared toward families, so we won't be having any formal talks,” Farzan said. “Instead, we're planning a variety of demonstrations and hands-on activities. For instance, we'll have an activity station where kids can learn how pollination works. First, the kids will cover their fingers in chalk dust (i.e. pollen) and collect plastic beads from inside tissue paper flowers (representing a nectar reward). As they collect 'nectar,' they'll transfer 'pollen' onto the flowers.”

Entomology graduate student Tricia Bohls of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will be there to explain the differences between honey bees and native bees. Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor at UC Davis, will showcase carpenter bees at the live native bee table. Also exhibited will be blue orchard bees, affectionately known as BOBs.

No reservations are required.  For more information, access the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/985443778172006/ 

DAVIS--For outstanding teaching and mentoring, molecular biologist Shirley Luckhart has been named the recipient of the 2016 “Award for Excellence in Service to Graduate Students,” sponsored by the UC Davis Graduate Student Association.

“This is a wonderful surprise,” said Luckhart, professor with the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology and adjunct professor in the Department of Entomology and Nematology.

She will receive the award on April 8 at the annual Interdisciplinary Graduate and Professional Student Award Banquet.

Luckhart, whose expertise includes molecular cell biology and biochemistry of malaria parasite transmission, was singled out for creating a thriving lab environment and her drive to help her students succeed.

Lab member Elizabeth “Lizzy” Glennon, a doctoral candidate in entomology, said that Luckhart is “unique in her creation of a cohesive lab environment, the quality of training that her students receive, and the strength of her dedication to education and wellbeing of students.”

“The most effective way of studying disease transmission is a multi-disciplinary approach,” Glennon wrote. “This is precisely the environment Shirley has created in her lab and all of her students benefit from it. Members of her lab are from several different departments and are encouraged to use their background to broaden the scope of their research. Shirley expects students to work collaboratively both within and beyond the lab and has put an enormous amount of effort towards forming and maintaining the community of vector-borne disease researchers at UC Davis.”

“Shirley served as interim co-director of the Center for Vectorborne Disease, served as an advisor to all students who are part of the designated emphasis in vector-borne disease, and sought to expand the community by involving new faculty members and their students,” Glennon said. “She organized and promoted events to allow students to meet and interact with each other, UC Davis faculty, and distinguished visiting scholars in the field. All of this work builds a legacy of excellent research and collaboration in the field that is a service to all current and future students at UC Davis.”

Luckhart “expects a great deal from her students and pushes them to work and think independently but also supports them unflaggingly in their efforts to do original research and form themselves as professionals,” Glennon said. “She ensures funding for all students joining the lab but encourages us to apply for external funding, both by forwarding scholarships she comes across and reading our applications.”

“All students are expected to take part in writing grants, updates, and portions of collaborative papers and are always given credit for the work they do,” Glennon wrote. “Students in her lab receive an education in the nitty-gritty of conducting research, from forming collaborations to acquiring funding to overcoming administrative hurdles. This is invaluable, particularly for students such as myself who are considering a career in academia.”

“Perhaps her greatest strength as a mentor is the sense of cohesiveness that she has created within the lab,” Glennon pointed out. “There are currently 10 members in her lab, including undergraduates and technicians, and the projects of every individual are overlapping. Through lab lunches, weekly meetings, and practice presentations we receive not only feedback from our principal investigator, but also from our peers.”

Lab member Lattha Souvannaseng, a doctoral candidate in genetics, praised Luckhart for instilling skills for quality research and placing great importance on communicating effectively. “These are qualities that include writing and presenting information clearly, concisely, and intelligently, all competencies that can be applied in any field and for any audience.”

“She will make time to help anyone, from an inexperienced undergraduate student presenting for the first time at the Undergraduate Research Conference, linking a master's student to a connection in a biomedical company, to the seasoned senior scientist interviewing for a tenured faculty position,” wrote Souvannaseng, who plans a career in science education outreach. “I have now mentored four undergraduate students and looked to Shirley as an example of what a great mentor should be. She is always available to me when I need advice on how to guide my students, and as a result, the students are gaining valuable experiences in the lab.”

Maribel “Mimi” Portilla, a doctoral candidate in the Sharon Lawler lab, praised Luckhart's support and guidance. “Due to this positive and supportive experience, her name immediately came to mind as an academic adviser to the women in STEM support group I created, Sisters in Science. Her involvement in this group speaks to her ability to show support in a way that goes beyond her mentorship as a principal investigator.”

Luckhart earlier received the 2012 Outstanding Mentor Award from the UC Davis Consortium for Women and Research.

Luckhart, who joined the UC Davis faculty in 2004 from Virginia Tech, received her master's degree in entomology from Auburn University, and her doctorate in entomology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.

DAVIS--Edwin Lewis, associate dean for agricultural sciences, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and professor and former vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, is the 2016 recipient of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Excellence Award from the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America (PBESA).

Lewis is recognized as a global leader in using nematodes as biological agents, said nematologist Steve Nadler, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.

Lewis will receive the award at PBESA's 100th annual meeting, “Science for the Next Century,” set April 3-6 in Honolulu. PBESA is comprised of 11 western states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming), parts of Canada  and Mexico, and seven U.S. territories.

Lewis is now an applicant for the national IPM award, to be presented by ESA at its September meeting in Orlando, Fla.

IPM specialist Frank Zalom, UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology and a past president of the 7000-member Entomological Society of America, praised “Ed's outstanding contributions to our state, national and global agricultural research.”

“Ed's work involves five of our state's 10 most valued commodities: almonds, a $5.9 billion crop, strawberries, $2.5 billion; walnuts, $1.8 billion; tomatoes, $1.6 billion and pistachios, $1.6 billion (2014 statistics),” said Zalom, a past recipient of the Pacific Branch and national IPM awards. “Also in 2014, California's agricultural exports amounted to $21.59 billion in value. Thus, in many respects, California feeds the world, and Ed's research is integral to controlling insects and nematodes.” 

“Dr. Lewis has one of the most diversified research programs that I have known,” Nadler said. “He collaborates regularly with many different constituencies ranging from small startup companies to various commodity boards in order to take information from basic laboratory research and apply it to field situations. What ties together many of these projects is biological control of pest organisms with a focus on sustainability and integrated pest management.”

“Dr. Lewis' lab has been instrumental in using entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) to implement biological control of a large variety of insect pests,” Nadler pointed out. “His research with these nematodes has focused on investigating the ecological factors that relate to host-finding, persistence in soil, and their efficacy in field situations.”

In addition to understanding factors that influence nematode success, the Lewis laboratory “has worked to understand how other approaches, such as novel fertilizers, can work in combination to increase plant productivity,” Nadler said.

“Few scientists working with EPNs have designed and implemented such detailed and relevant studies to characterize what happens to nematodes under field conditions,” Nadler noted. “Importantly, use of EPNs to control naval orangeworm is effective and can reduce the need for pesticide applications.”

Research entomologist David Shapiro-Ilan of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service said that Lewis' research has “contributed immensely to the disciplines of entomology and IPM.”

“Dr. Lewis has clearly emerged as a world leader in research and application of entomopathogenic nematodes or EPNs,” said Shapiro-Ilan.

A native of New York, Lewis received his doctorate in entomology in 1991 from Auburn (Ala.) University and then accepted postdoctoral positions at Rutgers University and the University of Maryland. He then moved to Virginia Tech to join the entomology faculty there. 

Lewis joined the UC Davis faculty in 2004. He serves as the editor-in-chief of the Elsevier journal Biological Control. He is also known for teaching two highly popular classes at UC Davis: “Behavioral Ecology of Insects” and “Biological Control of Agricultural Pests.”

Professor Diane Ullman today announced the list of noon-hour spring seminars hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. All seminars will take place on Wednesdays from 12:10 to 1 p.m. from March 30 through June 1 in Room 230 of Wellman Hall. (This is a change of venue from the winter quarter.)

The seminars, chaired by Ullman, are open to all interested persons.

The schedule as of April 25: