(Editor's Note: Due to unexpected issues, this seminar is postponed. It probably will take place in the spring of 2024)

Noted entomologist and UC Davis doctoral alumnus Michael Hoffmann, an emeritus professor at Cornell University known for his advocacy of climate change literacy and the relationship between food and climate change, plus his leadership activities and biological control projects, will deliver the Thomas and Nina Leigh Distinguished Alumni Award Seminar on Monday, Oct. 9 in the Student Community Center, UC Davis.

The Leigh seminar, hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, annually honors distinguished alumni. Hoffmann was selected the 2020 recipient, but the COVID pandemic intervened. This is first seminar since the beginning of COVID pandemic.

Hoffmann will present his lecture from 4 to 5 p.m., in Room D, second floor of the Student Community Center.  It is free and open to the public and no reservations are required.

An invitational reception and buffet dinner will follow in the Student Community Center.

Hoffmann, who received his doctorate in entomology in 1990 from UC Davis, studying with Professor Ted Wilson and later Professor Frank Zalom, will present the seminar on “Our Changing Menu--Climate Change and the Foods We Love and Need,” the title of a book he co-authored with Carrie Koplinka-Loehr, and Danielle Eiseman in April, 2021.

Hoffmann is the lead author of the 264-page book, published by Comstock Publishing Associates. It "packs the increasingly complex relationships between food and climate change," according to the publisher. "Whether you're a chef, baker, distiller, restaurateur, or someone who simply enjoys a good pizza or drink, it's time to come to terms with how climate change is affecting our diverse and interwoven food system."

The co-authors "offer an eye-opening journey through a complete menu of before-dinner drinks and salads; main courses and sides; and coffee and dessert. Along the way they examine the escalating changes occurring to the flavors of spices and teas, the yields of wheat, the vitamins in rice, and the price of vanilla." They round out their story "with a primer on the global food system, the causes and impacts of climate change, and what we can all do. Our Changing Menu is a celebration of food and a call to action?encouraging readers to join with others from the common ground of food to help tackle the greatest challenge of our time."

Hoffmann transitioned to emeritus in January 2020 after 30 years at Cornell, but remains active. Serving as executive director of the Cornell Institute for Climate Smart Solutions (2015-2020), he continues to provides visionary leadership, communicates to a wide range of audiences the challenges and opportunities that come with a changing climate, and builds partnerships among public and private organizations.

Hoffmann's leadership activities include co-chairing the President's Sustainable Campus Committee and helping to lead a climate change literacy initiative for students, staff, and faculty. He dedicates his time toward what he calls “the grand challenge of climate change and (to) help people understand and appreciate what is happening through food.” Effectively communicating about climate change, Hoffmann presented a TEDX talk in 2014 on “Climate Change: It's Time to Raise Our Voices” that drew widespread attention.

A native of Wisconsin, Hoffmann holds a bachelor of science degree (1975) from the University of Wisconsin, and his master's degree from the University of Arizona (1978). He served with the U.S. Marines in Vietnam from 1967 to 1971, achieving the rank of sergeant.

UC Davis Experiences. Hoffmann remembers well his experiences at UC Davis. “I was privileged to work with many dedicated faculty in entomology and several other departments.”

After receiving his doctorate at UC Davis, Hoffmann joined the faculty of Cornell in 1990 as an assistant professor, with 60 percent Extension and 40 percent research duties, and advanced to associate professor in 1996, and professor in 2003. His academic career focused on administrative endeavors (80 percent) beginning in 1999.

Hoffmann's career at Cornell included serving as associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, associate director of Cornell Cooperative Extension, director of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, and director of the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program. He helped initiate a leadership and professional development week-long program that benefited more than 400 faculty at Cornell and beyond.

Prior to his administrative duties, he worked to develop and implement cost-effective and environmentally sensitive tactics for management of insect pests.  He emphasized biological control, development and application of insect behavior modifying chemicals, and novel control tactics, all in an integrated pest management (IPM) context. Much of his research and Extension programming was multi-state and multidisciplinary in nature. 

Among his entomological achievements, he

• Developed unique, cost-effective and environmentally benign biological control tactics for insect pest of sweet corn, peppers and potatoes, and presented wide scale demonstrations on conventional and organic farms in New York, Virginia, Massachusetts and Canada.
• Published the first popular guide to beneficial insects (64 pages, with more than 5,000 copies distributed)
• Developed patented unique fiber barrier technology for pest control

Highly honored for his integrated pest management (IPM) expertise, Hoffmann was selected the recipient of the Experiment Station Section Award for Excellence in Leadership in 2015. He won an Entomological Foundational Professional award for Excellence in IPM, Entomological Society of America, Eastern Branch, in 2006. He created a one-of-a-kind culture of sustainability at the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station focused on reducing the carbon footprints and costs, and ensuring staff well-being. He helped initiate a leadership and professional development week-long program that has benefited more than 400 faculty at Cornell and beyond.

His publication record includes 105 refereed journal articles, nine book chapters, and three books. 

Leigh Seminar. The Leigh seminar memorializes cotton entomologist Thomas Frances Leigh (1923-1993), an international authority on the biology, ecology and management of arthropod pests affecting cotton production. During his 37-year UC Davis career, Leigh was based at the Shafter Research and Extension Center, also known as the U.S. Cotton Research Station. He researched pest and beneficial arthropod management in cotton fields, and host plant resistance in cotton to insects, mites, nematodes and diseases. In his memory, his family and associates set up the Leigh Distinguished Alumni Seminar Entomology Fund at the UC Davis Department of Entomology. When his wife, Nina, passed in 2002, the alumni seminar became known as the Thomas and Nina Distinguished Alumni Seminar.

Leigh joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology in 1958, retiring in 1991 as an emeritus professor, but he continued to remain active in his research and collaboration until his death on Oct. 26, 1993.  The Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America awarded him the C. F. Woodworth Award for outstanding service to entomology in 1991.

Resources: 
'Our Changing Menu': Warming Climate Serves Up Meal Remake" Cornell

Frank Zalom never set out to study insect science.

The UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus, an icon in the entomological world, especially in integrated pest management (IPM), grew up thinking that he might be working for the telephone company.

His father, an immigrant from Czechoslovakia, wanted him to obtain a college degree and pursue “a career with the telephone company,” Frank related. “Both of my parents worked for Western Electric, a part of AT&T.”

That proposed career did not happen. When he enrolled at Arizona State University, Frank chose to major in architecture before switching to zoology.

“In high school, I really liked mechanical drawing, and I was pretty good with math,” he told interviewer Marlin Rice on Feb. 14 for a Legends feature appearing in the summer 2023 issue of the American Entomologist, a publication of the 7000-member Entomological Society of America (ESA). “In 1970, there was the first Earth Day, and I got caught up in that. I wanted to do something to save the world from pollution and overpopulation. I became really interested in environmental issues. That's when I switched to zoology. At Arizona State, we collected scorpions for their anti-venom lab, and they would pay us a quarter a scorpion.”

Frank received two degrees from Arizona State, a bachelor's degree in zoology (1973) and a master's degree in ecology (1974), before earning his doctorate in entomology in 1978 from UC Davis, where he studied with major professor and agricultural entomologist Albert “Al” Grigarick.

“Frank was working for the U.S. Forest Service in Davis when he applied for graduate school in entomology,” Grigarick, now 95, said in an interview July 10. “When his application was circulating among our faculty for a major professor, I noticed his thesis was on a backswimmer.  With a background in aquatic entomology, I wondered if he might be interested in doing research in our California rice fields.  He did, was an excellent graduate student and soon got his PhD.  He accepted an academic position at the University of Minnesota (assistant professor, 1979-1980, in the Department of Entomology, Fisheries and Wildlife) but the climate there may have played a role in his decision to apply for an IPM position in Cooperative Extension in California.  I applaud the selection committee that accepted him.  The University of California, California Agriculture, and the discipline of entomology have received countless benefits from his pursuits.  I am very proud of Frank.”

Zalom returned to California, serving as Extension IPM coordinator from 1980 to 1987, advancing to associate director for research in the newly formed Statewide Integrated Pest Management (UC IPM) Program in 1984, and then was promoted to director of UC IPM in 1986, a position he held until 2002 when he returned to the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology full time eventually being promoted to Distinguished Professor, Entomologist in the Agricultural Experiment Station, and Extension Entomologist.  Other positions soon followed.

A highly celebrated entomologist, Zalom is an ESA Fellow (2008), past ESA president (2014), and he holds ESA's highest honor, Honorary Member (2021), an honor achieved by only four other UC Davis entomologists: Harry Lange, 1990; Don MacLean, 1993; Bruce Eldridge, 1996; and John Edman, 2001.

“Distinguished Professor Frank Zalom's pioneering research and deep connection to Extension work have revolutionized integrated pest management,” Helene Dillard, dean of the UC Davis College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, said July 6. “His profound accomplishments serve as a testament to the power of scientific innovation and the transformative impact it can have on the sustainability of California agriculture and beyond.”

Zalom considers himself a “blue-collar entomologist.” As he told Rice: “That's the way I con­sider myself: somebody that doesn't mind getting dirty, who's interested in insects, likes to communicate with people, and wants to solve problems.”

Rice's article, Frank Zalom, Blue Collar California, is one of a series in his “Legends: Life Stories from Legends in Entomology” feature that highlights the careers of noted entomologists who are at least 70 years old and remain active professionally. Zalom is the second UC Davis entomologist to be featured in Legends. Rice chronicled the life and work of UC Davis Distinguished Professor Bruce Hammock in the spring 2020 edition. 

“I am honored to follow Bruce as the second member of our department featured in this American Entomologist column,” Zalom said. Among his scores of credentials: Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society (2015), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2010),and the author of 376 journal articles or book chapters. (See Zalom's full CV on his website at https://entomology.ucdavis.edu/people/frank-zalom). He recently completed a 4-1/2 year term as Editor-in-Chief of ESA's Journal of Economic Entomology. 

Zalom retired from the university in 2018 as a distinguished professor emeritus, but immediately joined the “recall professor” ranks. 

“As a recall professor, I still have quite a few ongoing research projects besides working on impact evaluations of proposed pesticide regulations in an advisory capacity with the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Office of Pesticide Consultation and Analysis,” Zalom said this week.  “The main arthropods that my lab is currently working on are spotted wing drosophila on berry crops and cherries, treehoppers as vectors of grapevine red blotch virus, olive fruit fly, navel orangeworm on almonds, and spider mites.” 

“Beginning in 1980 and continuing through today, Zalom has focused his extension and research activities on California specialty crops, including tree crops, small fruits, and fruiting vegetables,” Rice wrote. “The IPM strategies and tactics Zalom has developed include monitoring procedures, thresholds, pest development and population models, biological control, cultural control, and use of less toxic pesticides, which have become standard practice and part of the University of California IPM guidelines for these crops.” 

Rice added: “The Zalom lab has responded to numerous newly identified or invasive pests in the last two decades, with research projects on glassy-winged sharpshooter, olive fruit fly, a new biotype of greenhouse whitefly, light brown apple moth, grapevine red blotch disease, brown marmorated stink bug, and spotted-wing drosophila, among others.” 

Some excerpts from the American Entomologist article, as shared by Rice: 

What was your first memorable experience with an insect?

“I was raised in Arizona, and it may have been when I was six or seven years old. We had very sandy soils, and we'd see cone-shaped pits with an antlion in the bottom. We'd drop other insects in there for them to grab. That was the first time I ever thought much about insects.”

Entomology eventually grabbed you. How did that happen?

“In those days, there were a lot of required ‘-ology' type classes. I took general entomology, taught by Frank Hasbrouck. I did well in the class and thought it was interesting. Another class I took was aquatic insects; that was taught from an ecology perspective. I liked working with insects, but I never imagined I would do anything related to entomology when I finished. I also did a summer job at the USDA cotton lab in Phoenix, working with their sterile male release program and sweeping cotton fields for pink bollworms. I did it for a job, but I learned more about research.” 

What was your greatest challenge as an undergraduate or graduate student?

“Just to figure out where I would be going with a career. I always had this ‘working for the telephone company' mentality, which I did not want to do. If you don't come from an academic background, you only associate professional jobs with doctors, lawyers, teachers, and teaching was something I knew I could do. As I started to mature academically, I realized there's a whole world out there I wasn't aware of. More things than being a doctor, lawyer, or teacher.” 

You are officially retired but still working as a recall professor. When I hear the word ‘recall,' I think of something that is broken or not functioning correctly, like an automotive part. I assume that's not what recall means here?

“No, although there are days when I feel like I am not quite functioning properly. At UC, you can get recalled and paid part-time, and in my case, it allows me to keep my lab and most importantly to stay active in research. The funding comes from the California Department of Food and Agriculture primarily for consulting on pesticide uses, alternatives, and impacts of proposed regulations. This is helpful for the state because I have a solid understanding of pests and pest management in California crops, and I have established a good deal of mutual trust and understanding with growers' groups. In this role, I can impact pesticide policy and help maintain some of the most critical chemical uses.” 

What is your philosophy of extension?

“It's about putting your foot in the other person's shoes. I try to understand the grower's perspective and needs, then approach the job like problem solving. Although I've always tried to reduce the negative impacts of pesticides, I also work towards implementable alternatives. The growers appreciate it. They know I'm not trying to take the pesticides from them without offering an alternative. That was a concern from the ag industry early in the UCIPM program, which was funded by the state legislature to reduce pesticide use, and the growers were worried that it would contribute to more regulation.” 

You've made several seminal contributions to entomology. Is there one that you consider a crowning achievement?

“Playing a role in getting the UC IPM program recognized as an integral part of the university system and gaining its acceptance by growers. But I didn't do this by myself, of course. We had a team of very talented people who were passionate about IPM and worked well together. I was fortunate to help facilitate it and keep the momentum going.” 

You studied numerous insects. What's a favorite and why?

“The spotted-wing drosophila is my favorite. There's just so much that can be done with it. It's easy to rear, has a short generation time, and an economic problem. And it's a Drosophila after all, so it brought me back to population genetics, which I enjoyed many years ago. Working with geneticist Joanna Chiu has enabled me to learn about molecular techniques. She's great to work with and is patient with an old guy like me.” 

Chiu, who became chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology on July 1, 2023, commented July 6: “Frank has been an amazing and supportive mentor and friend since the day I met him. He welcomed me with open arms into the department when I first started as an assistant professor and introduced me to research in Agricultural Entomology. Given my postdoctoral training in biomedical sciences in the Drosophila model, I must have sounded so naive when we first started our now decade-long collaboration on the fruit pest Drosophila suzukii, but he has always been so patient as a mentor. He is literally a walking encyclopedia; I have learned so much from him and continue to do so every single time I talk to him. I have been so lucky to have Frank as a mentor!" 

What does Zalom, as a long-time Extension entomologist, see as the future for Extension? He told Rice: “…I think extension is tremendously important and it is one of the things that has made the land-grant university system unique in the world. Five years ago, I might have said, ‘The future's bleak in California.' And if California's budget problems got really bad, I'm not sure that it would survive. The campus and county links were becoming increasingly strained as retirements were greatly reducing the numbers of specialists and farm advisors, and the ability to respond to problems locally became increasingly difficult. The traditional extension model didn't reflect the current way information is being transferred, either. In California, there are well-established crop consultants that advise growers and large farming operations with their own crop and pest management staffs. Recently, budgets have increased in extension and people are being hired again. But many new positions reflect working on more thematic problems like fire and climate. Roles have shifted for extension, with farm advisors and specialists assuming more of the traditional experiment station applied research role. California extension is in transition.” 

Other questions and answers published in the American Entomologist article include:

Do you think the future is bright, but just different?

“I think it is bright, because there remains a need for university-based applied research programs. The traditional extension programs where you'd regularly meet with growers—there's going to be a different model for that. More electronic transfer of information, more electronic meetings, but it loses something.” 

What great question in agricultural entomology or agricultural policy would you like to see addressed before you call it quits?

“The biggest challenge is invasive species. Accepting that they will get established and how will you manage them from a practical and policy standpoint. They're probably not going to be eradicated, so less emphasis on eradication and more on management. And dealing with trade issues, which are deeply political. How do we manage invaders on a world scale to keep them out of the chain of trade? I would like to see policymakers address that at some point. But right now, it's a losing battle.”

Any other questions to address?

“Another is the potential for using pesticides on a prescription basis. If an insecticide presents a human health or environmental hazard, maybe somebody should be trained and licensed to prescribe its used safely under less risky circumstances. That's a policy to consider instead of eliminating the ability to use pesticides that have value. Ultimately, too many materials are lost because the ag industry fights use restrictions right to the end. Maybe proposing prescription use is some way of maintaining useful products.”

As president, you issued some Grand Challenges. Do you feel like those gained any traction?

“They got people talking about important issues that the entomological community can address, so in that respect, I think it did. It also helped ESA's global initiative by partnering with other international societies, particularly with the Entomological Society of Brazil. I noticed the Royal Entomological Society has established a Grand Challenges initiative to identify how to improve the human condition.”

What book would you recommend graduate students read?

 “A good one is Life on a Little-Known Planet: A Biologist's View of Insects and Their World [by Howard Ensign Evans]. It tells why insects are important and the research that led to important discoveries. If you're not interested in that sort of thing, then maybe you shouldn't be studying entomology or pursuing it as a career.

In the Rice interview, Zalom also touched on his family. “Family comes first in my life, then work. I still bring a lot of entomology-related work home with me. Honestly, it's pretty bad. (Laughs). I may have gotten a job in marine biology, but I wouldn't have been any happier.” 

Zalom is married to the former Janet Smilanick, who received her master's degree from UC Davis in the 1970s. Her major professor was chemical ecologist Martin Birch (1944-2009), who served on the UC Davis faculty from 1973 to 1981, chairing the department from 1979 to 1981 before accepting a faculty position at the University of Oxford. 

The couple married when Janet was Professor Marjorie Hoy's staff research associate at UC Berkeley. Hoy was also featured in an American Entomologist ‘Legends' article in fall 2019. The Zaloms have two children (Martina, an oncologist and Frank Nicholas “Nick,” a lawyer) and four grandchildren, ranging in age from two months to 11 years.

Neither Martina nor Nick expressed interest in following in their parents' entomological footsteps.

Martina, who received her bachelor of science degree in bioengineering from UC Berkeley and her medical degree from UC San Diego, is an oncologist/hematologist with Kaiser Permanante, Roseville. She served on the staff at Olive View/UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, before returning to the Sacramento area about four years ago.

Nick, who received his bachelor of science degree in economics from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, and his law degree from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., is a senior associate with the law firm of Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe in Sacramento. Nick served three deployments as an officer in U.S. Navy, doing drug interdiction in central and South America and port security in the Persian Gulf. Like Martina, he also returned to the Sacramento area about four years ago.

Meanwhile, Zalom has added another position to his curriculum vitae: he recently accepted a position with the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) as Panel Manager for the 1890 Capacity Building Grants Program.

His footprints and legacy in the entomological world continue.

Thirteen UC Davis scientists or former affiliates are among authors from eight countries who contributed to research articles for the Journal of Economic Entomology's Special Collection: Research Advances in Spotted-Wing Drosophila suzukii Management. The Special Collection, published in the August 2022 edition, showcases 14 articles.

Native to Asia, the agricultural pest is a worldwide threat to the berry production industry, which includes raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and cherries. The tiny insect, about 1/12 to 1/8 inch long, invaded the continental United States in 2008. 

“All of the papers were by invitation of the co-editors of the special collection—Jana Lee, Cesar Rodrigue-Saona, and me,” said journal editor-in-chief Frank Zalom, a UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus and recall professor in the Department of Entomology and Nematology. Zalom's research includes the spotted-wing drosophila.

Lee, formerly with the UC Davis laboratory of the late chemical ecologist Steve Seybold, is a research entomologist with the Horticultural Crops Research Unit,  U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Corvallis. Rodriguez-Saona, who received his doctorate from UC Riverside, is an Extension entomologist with the Department of Entomology, Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey.

In addition to Zalom and Lee, the UC Davis-linked authors include Joanna Chiu and Antoine Abrieux (Joanna Chiu lab); Zain Syed and Kevin Cloonan (Walter Leal lab); Gregory Loeb (Rick Karban lab); and Kelly Hamby, Hannah Burrack, Fatemeh Ganjisaffar, Brian Gress, Nicole Nicola and Mark Demkovich (Zalom lab).

Overall, the Special Collection includes authors from Austria, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States that represent perspectives from universities, federal and state laboratories, growers, and pest product companies, according to the editors. 

One paper, Spatio-temporal Variation of Spinosad Susceptibility in Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae), a Three-year Study in California's Monterey Bay Region, is from the Zalom lab and includes co-author, molecular geneticist and physiologist Joanna Chiu, professor and vice chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology. 

UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology communication specialist Kathy Keatley Garvey provided the cover photo of the spotted-wing drosophila feeding on a raspberry.

Since 2008, "D. suzukii has become a key economical pest of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and cherries in the United States and worldwide," the editors wrote in their introductory remarks. "Not surprisingly, the number of publications has proliferated from 29 publications as of 2010 to 978 additional publications between 2011 and 2021 from a Web of Science search for ‘Drosophila suzukii.' While many publications are available, this special collection will highlight advances in D. suzukii pest management since its U.S. invasion. We solicited papers by open call and received 66 abstracts, and selected 14 papers covering: 1) review, 2) monitoring and risk, 3) behavioral control, 4) biological control, 5) cultural control, and 6) chemical control."

The editors pointed out that “Given that 14 years of research has accumulated since the continental U.S. invasion, it was fitting to include two reviews that provide a different scope than was covered in prior reviews on D. suzukii biological control (Lee et al. 2019, Wang et al. 2020), trapping (Burrack et al. 2020), cultural control (Schöneberg et al. 2021), and chemical ecology (Cloonan et al. 2018). This special collection is anchored by Tait et al. (2021), a review of the most promising methods as part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy against D. suzukii across the world since 2008. The effectiveness, impact, sustainability, and present stage of development and implementation are discussed for each of the considered techniques, and insights for continued development are presented.”

“A second review in this special collection by Garcia et al. (2022) summarizes the history and current status of D. suzukii in Latin America. The authors first provide a history of the D. suzukii invasion through Latin American countries, which started in 2011 in Mexico, and is now present in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay. They describe the host plants where D. suzukii has been found as well as advances in monitoring, biological control, chemical control, cultural control, and in the sterile insect technique. The authors posit that this information can serve as the basis for developing sustainable area-wide management programs in Latin America.”

The researchers related that the pest is a significant threat to California's berry production industry, which the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) valued at more than $2.8 billion in 2019. Caneberries, in particular, "are a preferred host of D. suzukii, and California accounts for 89.4 percent of all production in the United States, with the Monterey Bay region producing about half of the state's raspberries and blackberries (CDFA 2020). This pest has now spread to all major berry and cherry growing areas of the United States."

The collection is meant to serve "as a key reference point for entomologists across many institutions (e.g., academia, government, and industry) on important advances in D. suzukii pest management," according to the Entomological Society of America. "The articles in this collection will also provide scientists information on potential research gaps that will help guide future research directions on this important pest. The goal is to preserve and catalog articles on various aspects of D. suzukii pest management, i.e., monitoring, cultural control, chemical control, behavioral control, and biological control, that will be shared among entomologists."  

World-renowned entomologist Walter Soares Leal, a UC Davis distinguished professor known for his outstanding research, leadership, teaching and public service, is a newly selected Honorary Member of the Entomological Society of America, the highest honor that the 7000-member ESA accords.

“Honorary Membership acknowledges those who have served ESA for at least 20 years through significant involvement in the affairs of the society that has reached an extraordinary level,” ESA officials said in announcing the three recipients on Aug. 24. “Candidates for this honor are selected by the ESA Governing Board and then voted on by the ESA membership.”

“I am honored and humbled to receive this award,” said Leal, a distinguished biochemistry professor with the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and a former chair of the Department of Entomology (now the Department of Entomology and Nematology).  “It is truly a highlight of my career.”

Other 2022 Honorary Member recipients are research entomologist Alvin Simmons of the USDA Agricultural Research Service whom Leal fondly calls “my twin brother”; and research entomologist and UC Davis-educated Melody Keena of the U.S. Forest Service. 

Leal and Simmons co-chaired the 2016 International Congress of Entomology conference, “Entomology Without Borders,” held in Orlando, Florida, that drew nearly 7000 attendees from 101 countries. It was the largest gathering of entomologists in the history of insect science.  

Keena received three UC Davis degrees in entomology:  her bachelor's degree in 1983; her master's in 1985, and her doctorate in 1988.  (See her website.)

Leal, Simmons and Keena will be recognized during the 2022 Joint Annual Meeting of the Entomological Societies of America, Canada, and British Columbia, Nov. 13-16, in Vancouver. 

Leal is the sixth UC Davis faculty member to be named an Honorary Member of ESA. UC Davis distinguished professor Frank Zalom of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and the 2014 president of ESA, achieved the honor in 2021. Professor W. Harry Lange (1912-2004) received the award in 1990; Professor Donald MacLean (1928-2014), the 1984 ESA president, won the award in 1993; Professor Bruce Eldridge in 1996, and Professor John Edman in 2001.  

As a leading global scientist and inventor in the field of insect olfaction and communication, Leal was named a 2019 Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) for his impact in the fields of molecular, cellular biology, and entomology. (Due to the COVID pandemic, the organization cancelled the 2020 Phoenix ceremony and Leal received the medal in June 2022.) 

“When Walter Leal reached UC Davis, he came with the reputation of being a ‘one man army in research,'” said UC Davis distinguished professor Bruce Hammock who received the NAI Fellow award in 2014. Hammock holds a joint appointment with the Department of Entomology and Nematology and the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. “This reputation was well deserved.  I know of no one at UC Davis who matches Walter in taking his remarkable fundamental advances in science and translating them to increase the safety and magnitude of world food production.” 

Leal, an expert in insect communication, investigates how insects detect odors, connect and communicate within their species; and detect host and non-host plant matter. His research, spanning three decades, targets insects that carry mosquito-borne diseases as well as agricultural pests that damage and destroy crops. He and his lab drew international attention with their discovery of the mode of action of DEET, the gold standard of insect repellents.

Leal was recently elected chair of the International Congress of Entomology Council, which selects a country to host the congress every four years and which supports the continuity of the international congresses of entomology. Leal succeeds prominent entomologist May Berenbaum of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, editor-in-chief of the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and a 2014 recipient of the National Medal of Science. 

“I have big shoes to fill,” he said. 

Federal Grants. For the last 22 years, Leal's research program has drawn support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, commodity groups, research agreements, and gifts from various donors.

He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers in a variety of entomology and multidisciplinary journals, including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS), Nature, iScience, Journal of Medical Entomology, Insect Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology. His research, with an h-index of 61, has been cited more than 13,500 times.

A native of Brazil, educated in Brazil and Japan, and fluent in Portuguese, Japanese and English, Leal received his master's degree and doctorate in Japan: his master's degree at Mie University in 1987, and his doctorate in applied biochemistry at Tsukuba University in 1990. Leal then conducted research for 10 years at Japan's National Institute of Sericultural and Entomological Science and the Japan Science and Technology Agency before joining the faculty of the UC Davis Department of Entomology in 2000. He chaired the department from July 2006 to February 2008.

Leal has served ESA for more than two decades, organizing symposia at the annual meetings, and serving as secretary, president, and past president of the ESA Integrative Physiological and Molecular Insect Systems section, now the Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology section.  “He organized more than a dozen program and section symposia and included outstanding scholars and newly minted ESA members as speakers or co-organizers,” ESA noted. “These symposia included sponsored luncheons, social hours, and discussion sessions to promote interaction among attendees and speakers and build and cement collaborations.”

Highly Honored by Peers. Highly honored by his peers, Leal is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society (2015) and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2005), ESA (2009), and California Academy of Sciences (2015). He received both the Medal of Achievement (1995) and the Medal of Science (2008) from the Entomological Society of Brazil and the 1998 Gakkaisho from the Japanese Society of Applied Entomology and Zoology.  In 2019, ESA selected him to deliver the Founders' Memorial Lecture on "Tom Eisner: An Incorrigible Entomophile and Innovator Par Excellence."

The International Society of Chemical Ecology honored him with its Silverstein-Simeone Award (2007) and the Silver Medal (2012). In 2012, Leal was elected to the Brazilian Academy of Science (inducted in 2013). For his creativity in entomology, Leal received ESA's Nan Yao Su Award (2011) and was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (2019). The UC Davis Academic Senate awarded him both the Distinguished Teaching Award (2020) and the Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award (2022).