- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
He will be inducted as vice president-elect at the ESA's 63rd annual meeting, Nov. 15-18 in Minneapolis, Minn. He is scheduled to advance to vice president, president-elect, and president, and then serve a year fulfilling the duties of past president, according to Richard Levine, ESA communications program manager.
"The science represented by entomology and ESA has never been stronger," Parrella said in an ESA news release. "As a member of the governing board for six years, I supported an aggressive approach that followed the leadership of past presidents that has radically changed the society. I am honored to be able to continue this forward-looking stance to enhance the science of entomology, and the visibility and impact of the society at the national and international levels."
Active in ESA since graduate school, Parrella served as the Pacific Branch ESA representative to the ESA's governing board for six years, from 2007-2013. He received an ESA Recognition Award in 1987, was selected a fellow in 2008, and won the ESA Distinguished Achievement Award in Horticultural Entomology in 2011. Parrella currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Environmental Horticulture and the International Journal of Pest Management.
Two other UC Davis entomologists have served as the ESA president: Frank Zalom, distinguished professor of entomology, who served as president in 2014; and Donald McLean (1928-2014), emeritus professor and former chair of the department, who held that office in 1984. Zalom is an integrated pest management specialist, while McLean specialized in the insect transmission of pathogens.
Parrella received his bachelor of science degree in animal science from Rutgers-State University of Cook College, New Brunswick, N. J., and his master's degree and doctorate in entomology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.
He joined the faculty of UC Riverside's Department of Entomology in 1980, and then the UC Davis Departments of Entomology and Environmental Horticulture in 1988. A professor in the Departments of Entomology (now the Department of Entomology and Nematology) and Plant Sciences since 1991, he served as associate dean, Division of Agricultural Sciences, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences from 1999 to 2009.
Parrella focuses his research on developing integrated pest management (IPM) programs for greenhouse and nursery crops with an emphasis on biological control.
ESA, founded in 1889 and now totaling nearly 7000 members, is the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and people in related disciplines. Its members are affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. Members are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, consultants, students, and hobbyists. For more information, visit http://www.entsoc.org.