- (Focus Area) Economic Development
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
But such is the case with UC Davis distinguished professor James R. Carey.
A member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty since 1980, he was one of seven retiring or retired faculty members honored at a retirement event on June 11 at the UC Davis Alumni Center.
"A giant in our department" and "a scholar in every sense of the word."
That's how UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Frank Zalom characterized him.
Carey, who holds a joint appointment as a senior scholar in the Center for the Economics and Demography of Aging at UC Berkeley, is internationally known not only for his research in insect biodemography, mortality dynamics, and insect invasion biology but for his groundbreaking teaching program that centers on the strategic use of digital technology.
He is retiring this month.
In his five-minute allocated speech, Zalom, an integrated pest management specialist and a past president of the Entomological Society of America (ESA), noted that Carey developed much of his highly cited work on cohort life tables early in his career. "This led to his highly regarded work on biodemography and longevity that are widely recognized across many scientific disciplines beyond entomology. He is a scholar in every sense of the word."
"Jim's career long attention to invasive species, and in particular, his challenges to the dogmatic approach taken by regulatory agencies to their detection and eradication," Zalom said. "He has framed his challenges in the concept of invasion biology. He has urged the agencies to base their approaches on the entirety of available data and has taken it upon himself to thoroughly compile and analyze data on the occurrence of tephritid fruit flies in the United States as a prime example."
"Jim has been one of the giants of our department during the last 44 years, and I hope that he will continue to engage in his intellectual pursuits as an emeritus professor," Zalom concluded.
Highly honored by his peers, Carey is a fellow of four professional societies: ESA, American Association for the Advancement of Science, California Academy of Sciences, and the Gerontological Society of America. When ESA elected him a fellow in 2011, the organization described him as "the world's foremost authority on arthropod demography" and that he "is the first entomologist to have a mathematical discovery named after him by demographers – the Carey Equality — which set the theoretical and analytical foundation for a new approach to understanding wild populations."
Carey holds two degrees from Iowa State University: a bachelor's degree in fisheries and wildlife biology (1973), and master's degree in entomology (1975). He received his doctorate in entomology from UC Berkeley in 1980, the same year he joined the UC Davis faculty. As a doctoral student in 1978, he worked in the laboratories of population biologists Richard Lewontin and Richard Levins at Harvard University.
Carey is a former director (2003-13) of an 11-university consortium funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIH/P01) on the evolutionary ecology of lifespan. The 10-year, $10 million federal grant on “Aging in the Wild,” encompassed 14 scientists at the 11 universities.
Carey co-authored the book “Biodemography: An Introduction to Concepts and Methods” (Carey, J. R. and D. Roach. 2020; Princeton University Press), hailed as the “definitive textbook for the emerging field of biodemography, integrating biology, mathematics and demography.” To supplement the book, Carey created a free-access, video guidebook with a playlist of 175 separate presentations, subtitled in 300 different languages. It can be accessed on the UC Berkeley Population Sciences website at https://bit.ly/3FTge7u.
Carey earlier authored three books, Demography for Biologists (Oxford University Press 1993), "Longevity" (Princeton University Press, 2003), and Longevity Records: Life Spans of Mammals, Birds, Amphibians and Reptiles (Odense, 2000), as well as more than 250 journal articles and book chapters.
Internationally Recognized Teacher. An internationally recognized teacher, Carey was named a semi-finalist for the 2017 Baylor University Robert Foster Cherry Teaching Award (an international competition). He received ESA's Distinguished Teaching Award in 2014, after winning the 2014 distinguished teaching award from the Pacific Branch, ESA (PBESA). Another highlight was receiving PBESA's C. W. Woodworth Award in 2013. PBESA covers 11 Western states, plus parts of Mexico and Canada, and U.S. territories.
Carey developed a technological-savvy teaching program, a groundbreaking model for 21st Century instruction using short, concise videos. In so doing, he taught faculty, staff and students how to create succinct videos, and how to record seminars. All are geared toward ease of learning and increased knowledge retention.
Carey became interested in the use of digital technology in academia when he chaired the UC Academic Senate University Committee on Research Policy. He subsequently described a framework or “road map” for using video capture of seminars to increase research synergy across the 10 UC campuses. The University of California TV station, UCTV, then used this publication as a roadmap for creating the video platform, UCTV Seminars. The website has tallied more than 10 million seminar downloads.
Longevity Course. Carey taught an upper division undergraduate course titled "Longevity" (fall quarter and summer session), based on biodemographic concepts in both non-human species and humans. He also offered seminars and workshops on best practices in visualization concepts and presentation strategies, including a weeklong course annually to PhD fellows in Kampala, Uganda enrolled in the 9-university Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA).
Another honor he received was the UC Davis Academic Senate's Scholarly Public Service Award. In the nomination package, his colleagues praised him for carving "impressive milestones in biodemography, research, teaching and outreach during his 40-year professional career, not only raising the profile of entomology nationally and internationally, but serving as an entomology ambassador to scientists in a wide range of disciplines, particularly demography and gerontology."
Some of his accomplishments:
One-Minute Entomology. Carey innovated the concept of the “one minute expert” by launching student-produced videos that are 60 seconds in length. He and UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey (now emerita) engaged their students in producing more than 125 videos, and in the process, learning insect identification, succinct writing and speaking, best practices for slide presentation, peer review and teamwork.
How to Make an Insect Collection. Carey taught undergraduate and graduate students how to gather information and produce short videos for “How to Make an Insect Collection.” The award-winning project, considered by ESA as the best of its kind on the internet, includes a playlist of 11 short videos showing different aspects of insect collecting--from use of nets and hand collecting to pinning mounting and labeling.
Basics of Term-Paper Writing. His students have continually won the top awards at the UC Davis-sponsored Norma J. Lang Prize for Undergraduate Information Research in the category of Science, Engineering and Mathematics (SEM). One of his students has won first place in the SEM category in each of past five years. Five others have won either second or third place honors.
"A giant in the department, a scholar in every sense of the word."
- Author: John M Harper
Attention Mendocino & Lake Ranchers, Farmers, Forest Land Owners:
Attached is a flier about our survey that some of you may have received. It is very important that you take the time to fill out the survey as it helps us help you. It also help us justify Advisor position requests that will serve Mendocino & Lake Counties. The information we collect is completely confidential and will be used to clean up our client database and give us direction for the types of programs and research you want. If you have children of 4-H age or know others that might be interested in 4-H we will use that part of the survey results for contacting you about participating. If you want ranch, forest or farm visits with our Advisors we will follow up with you to schedule.
Thanks so much for completing the survey!
Sincerely,
John Harper
UCCE Livestock & Natural Resources Advisor, Emeritus
UCCE Programs Interest and Mailing List Sign UP Survey
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you missed UC Davis distinguished professor James R. Carey's well-attended seminar on "California's Fruit Fly Invasion: A 70-Year Struggle Nears Critical Mass," it's now online on YouTube.
His seminar, which took place June 3 in Briggs Hall, UC Davis, and on Zoom, drew global interest, stretching as far as Australia.
Carey pointed out that Callfornia has "the largest agricultural industry in the United States ($55 billion), is the fifth largest worldwide supplier of agricultural produces, grows more than 200 different crops, and "most fruit crops have been attacked by multiple tephritid species."
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) reported that the first Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) outbreak occurred on June 5, 1980, he said, and as of June 3, the state has detected 18 total species of fruit flies in 350 cities, amounting to 11,000 detections.
In his hour-long seminar, Carey presented an overview of the long-developing crisis, discussed lessons learned from analysis of fruit fly detection databases, and argued that "in order to have any chance at stemming this ever-rising tide, CDFA and the USDA urgently need to switch from their historic, ad hoc eradication strategy to a new one that is evidence-based and far more scientific."
In the closing moments, he asked "Why have oriental fruit fly outbreaks been occurring annually for the past 60 years in California?"
Because, he said, the fruit flies are "permanently established."
Carey, a 44-year member of the UC Davis faculty who is retiring in June, and a senior scholar in the Center for the Economics and Demography of Aging at UC Berkeley, researches insect biodemography, mortality dynamics, and insect invasion biology. He holds a doctorate in entomology from UC Berkeley (1980).
Carey served on the CDFA's Medfly Scientific Advisory Panel from 1987-1994, testified to the California Legislature "Committee of the Whole" in 1990 on the Medfly Crisis in California, and authored the paper "Establishment of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly in California" (1991, Science 258, 457).
He is a fellow of four professional societies: Entomological Society of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the California Academy of Sciences, and the Gerontological Society of America. He is former director (2003-13) of a 11-university consortium funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIH/P01) on the evolutionary ecology of lifespan. He co-authored the book “Biodemography: An Introduction to Concepts and Methods” (Carey, J. R. and D. Roach. 2020; Princeton University Press) and authored the books, “Demography for Biologists (Oxford University Press 1993), Longevity (Princeton University Press, 2003), and Longevity Records: Life Spans of Mammals, Birds, Amphibians and Reptiles (Odense, 2000) as well as more than 250 journal articles and book chapters.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The katydid nymph did.
It did appear in May.
The UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM) tells us that katydid nymphs appear in our gardens in April or May.
This little nymph was right on time, barely, as it surfaced in our Vacaville garden on May 28.
The nymph, a leafeater, is usually so camouflaged in the vegetation that we don't see it--unless it's hanging out on a California golden poppy blossom or a neon pink rock purslane. The adult katydid can be an economic pest when it feeds on such crops as mandarins.
Frankly, it can look quite comical as it "walks the walk," its long threadlike antennae probing the way as it descends a stem in the early evening.
- Author: Paramveer Singh
- Author: Richard Smith
University of California Cooperative Extension
2024 Automated Technology Field Day
Thursday, June 27, 2024 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Hartnell East Campus, Salinas, CA
1752 East Alisal Road, Salinas (follow signs to demonstration area)
Topics
- Growing role of automated technologies in precision weeding and other ag operations
- Automated weeders, thinners and sprayers from several companies will be demonstrated on planted crops
- Technologies appropriate for conventional and organic production will be demonstrated
- There will be ample opportunity to watch demonstrations of each machine and to discuss with company representatives.
Companies represented
- Boden Bolt
- Carbon Robotics
- Ecorobotix (Keithly Williams)
- L&Aser
- Mantis Ag Technology
- Smart Steam Applicator Organizers
- Sutton Ag
- Stout Industrial Technology
- Tensorfield
- Verdant Robotics
- Veda Farming
- Weed Spider
Organizers
- Steve Fennimore, Extension Vegetable Weed Control Specialist, UC Davis.
- Paramveer Singh, Agricultural Technology Area Advisor, Salinas.
- In cooperation with the USDA ARS, Salinas.
CA 3.0 Continuing Education Credits have been requested.
No registration fee and refreshments will be served.
For more information, call Steve Fennimore at (831) 594-1333.
2024 Automated Tech Field Day