Congratulations to UC Davis-trained bee scientist Robert E. Page Jr., recipient of the 2022 Exceptional Emeriti Faculty Award from the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES). 

Known by his colleagues as “the leading honey bee geneticist in the world,” he will be honored at the CA&ES Award of Distinction dinner and celebration awards ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 3 in the UC Davis Activities and Recreation Center Ballroom.

Page, emeritus professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and an emeritus professor and administrator at Arizona State University, “is a pioneering researcher in the field of evolutionary genetics and social behavior of honey bees, and a highly respected and quoted author, teacher and former administrator,” wrote nominator Steve Nadler, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.

“One of Dr. Page's most salient contributions to science was to construct the first genomic map of the honey bee, which sparked a variety of pioneering contributions not only to insect biology but to genetics at large,” Nadler pointed out. “It was the first genetic map of any social insect. He was the first to demonstrate that a significant amount of observed behavioral variation among honey bee workers is due to genotypic variation. In the 1990s, he and his students and colleagues isolated, characterized and validated the complementary sex determination gene of the honey bee; considered the most important paper yet published about the genetics of Hymenoptera. The journal Cell featured their work on its cover. In subsequent studies, he and his team published further research into the regulation of honey bee foraging, defensive and alarm behavior.”

A native of Bakersfield, Kern County, Rob holds a bachelor's degree in entomology (1976), with a minor in chemistry, from San Jose State University. He received his doctorate in entomology in 1980 from UC Davis, where he studied with major professor Harry H. Laidlaw Jr., “the father of honey bee genetics” for whom the university's bee facility, the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, is named.

Page joined the UC Davis entomology faculty in 1989 and chaired the department from 1999 to 2004 when he transitioned to emeritus and was recruited by Arizona State University (ASU)  to be the founding director of its School of Life Sciences. His career at ASU led to a series of top-level administrative roles: from founding director of the School of Life Sciences (2004-2010) to vice provost and dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (2011-2013) and then to University Provost, 2014-2015. 

While at UC Davis, Page worked closely with Laidlaw. Together they published many significant research papers and the landmark book, “Queen Rearing and Bee Breeding” (Wicwas Press, 1998), considered the most important resource book for honey bee genetics, breeding, and queen rearing.

For 24 years, from 1989 to 2015, Page maintained a UC Davis honey bee-breeding program, managed by bee breeder-geneticist Kim Fondrk. Their contributions include discovering a link between social behavior and maternal traits in bees. Their work was featured in a cover story in the journal Nature. In all, Nature featured his work on four covers from work mostly done at UC Davis. 

Since his retirement from UC Davis, Page has published 65 research papers, eight major reviews and two scholarly books, many using his UC Davis affiliation. He authored “The Spirit of the Hive: The Mechanisms of Social Evolution” (Harvard University Press, 2013) and the “Art of the Bee: Shaping the Environment from Landscapes to Societies” (Oxford University Press, 2020).

See more about Rob Page's career on the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology website.

Others honored at the CA&ES Award of Distinction ceremony will be Alumnus of the Year, Marko Zaninovich (Class of 1964); Distinguished Friends of the College, William 'Bill' Patterson and his wife, Doris Brown,  for their contributions and support of the Bohart Museum of Entomology; Exceptional Faculty Award: Daniel Sumner, the Frank H. Buck, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics; and Exceptional Staff Award, Shannon Tanguay, budget fiscal officer with CA&ES. (See CA&ES website)

Congratulations to Professor Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology!

The multi-talented professor, researcher, teacher and editor--with a deep background in administration--is the newly appointed Associate Dean for Research and Outreach for Agricultural Sciences, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

"Jason's position is effective today, Oct 25," announced Dean Helene Dillard. "Jason succeeds Anita Oberbauer, who was reappointed earlier this summer as executive associate dean for the college."

"He has a long history at land-grant institutions, beginning with his Ph.D. in evolutionary systematics and genetics at Virginia Tech and later as a postdoctoral researcher at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago," she related. 

In an email to fellow members of his department today, Bond wrote: "Like everyone, the events over the last year and half related to the pandemic, like how we communicate science, global change, and the massive social problems these issues are revealing, have really left an impression on me, and consequently feeling like I should be doing more. I have been impressed with Dean Dillard and the group that she has advising her, and am really excited about the opportunity to help facilitate the research, outreach, and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) missions of the College in a meaningful way."

Bond added that he has "no intention of abandoning my research/systematics program, teaching, or other Departmental obligations."  He noted that he and his wife, Kristen (who coordinates a nurse training program for Dignity Health) graduated their only daughter this past June from Davis High School and "we are now empty nesters."

Professor Bond joined the UC Davis faculty in 2018 from Auburn University, where he directed the Auburn University Museum of Natural History (2011–2016),  and served as professor and chair of the Auburn Department of Biological Sciences (2016–2018).  He played a major role in the design and construction of a new state-of-the-art collections facility. He also directed the Alabama Natural Heritage Program, guiding its conservation activities of endangered and threatened species in the Southeast.

Bond was recently named co-editor-in-chief of the journal Insect Systematics and Diversity (ISD), published by the Entomological Society of America, and will serve a four-year term, starting Jan. 1. His credentials also include associate editor of Systematic Biology (2019–present) and editor of New World Mygalomorphae for Zootaxa (2016–present).

In his research, Bond specializes in the evolutionary diversification of terrestrial arthropods, specifically spiders, millipedes, and tenebrionid beetles; and researches the landscape scale genomics of California species, with an emphasis on understanding the impact of global change on biodiversity. (See Bond laboratory.) He is also a  principal investigator associated with the California Conservation Genomics Project, a state-funded initiative with a single goal: to produce the most comprehensive, multispecies, genomic dataset ever assembled to help manage regional biodiversity. 

Born in Johnson City, Tenn., Jason spent his childhood in Lewisville, N.C., a small town just outside of Winston-Salem. His American roots run deep; his ancestors made munitions for George Washington's army. His father grew up on the campus of East Tennessee State University, where his grandfather served as head of facilities. “The Bond Building” bears his name. 

Jason received his bachelor's degree in biological sciences, cum laude, in 1993 from Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, and his master's degree in biology in 1995 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg. He earned his doctorate in evolutionary systematics and genetics in 1999 from Virginia Tech.

A veteran of  the U.S. Army, Bond served for a number of years as a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crew chief. 

See Spotlight on Jason Bond.

There's a "me" in mead.

There also could be a "u" in mead, as in "you."

There's definitely a honey bee, as without the bee and the honey, there's no mead.

The UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center, headed by executive director Amina Harris and headquartered at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, is planning a mead-making short course, billed as "the first of its kind in the country."

The event, "Mead-Making Short Course: From Honey to the Shelf," will take place Feb. 6-8, 2014 at RMI.

What is mead, you ask?

It's the world's oldest alcoholic beverage. "It's a fermented blend of pure honey and water," Harris says. Sometimes mead makers also add fruits and spices to produce a dry, semi-sweet, sweet or even a sparkling mead.

Mead, says Harris, is "the golden libation of the Norse gods, a staple throughout the Middle Ages." It's now making a comeback in the United States. More than 150 meaderies belong to the American Mead Makers' Association, according to president Chris Webber.  

The UC Davis short course has engaged the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology and some of the country’s leading mead makers and experts.

“I met, Frank Golbeck, a fledgling mead maker, at a conference this past spring," Harris recalled. Golbeck asked if she could "put together a seminar of some sort could be put together for mead makers like him." Harris began pursuing the possibilities as soon as she returned to campus.

Since then, Harris has worked with Professor Dave Block, chair of the Viticulture and Enology Department, to create a program that will take participants from tasting and buying honey, right through the process including fermentation and filtration." Specialists will present the sensory aspects of mead: smells and taste, defects and texture. Also planned is a  tour of the world’s first LEED Platinum winery at RMI.

“Once we had the program fleshed out, I began to contact the movers and shakers in the mead industry," Harris related. "With their help, we tweaked the initial plan and added some special tastings, educational panels and information about the current state of the honey bee and beekeeping.”  International wine expert and local personality Darrell Corti will help lead a mead tasting to teach what to look for in a finished product.

As of mid-October, 20 persons have registered. They span the United States: Alaska, New Hampshire, Florida, California, Michigan, Missouri, Washington, and Colorado.

The Honey and Pollination Center's mission is to showcase the importance of honey and pollination through education and research. The Center works with the agricultural, beekeeping and food service industries. The stakeholders include growers, grocers, chefs and students.

Meanwhile, the year-old Center continues to be quite active. On behalf of the Center, the UC Davis Bookstore is selling  Northern California wildflower honey and pollinator note cards. 

Another project is to develop a Honey Tasting and Aroma Wheel. “As more and more people become interested in artisanal and varietal honeys, it is believed the Center could help them understand the depth and flavors of honey," Harris said. "The wheel will be a terrific education opportunity."

Additionally, the Center plans to develop a Master Beekeeping course offered through UC Davis. 

Meanwhile, if you want to learn how to make mead, you can register for the short course for $425 before Dec. 1, 2013 and $500 afterwards. The program includes classes, tours and most meals. To enroll, access rmi.ucdavis.edu/events or email Harris at  aharris@ucdavis.edu for more information.  

Want to friend the Center on Facebook? Go to https://www.facebook.com/UcDavisHoneyAndPollinationCenter.