- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Thomas Sparks, the first graduate student of UC Davis distinguished professor Bruce Hammock, is the 2019 recipient, following in the generational footsteps of Hammock, his major professor at UC Riverside and UC Davis; and Hammock's major professor, the late John Casida of UC Berkeley.
Sparks accepted the award at the recent ACS meeting in San Diego. Hammock received the Spencer award in 1993, and Casida in 1978.
In his talk, Sparks acknowledged that he was a “third generation winner” following Casida and Hammock. "I was surprised to get a very large response / applause for this--very gratifying and likely testimony to the high regard for John Casida and Bruce Hammock."
"I was there cheering for Tom," Hammock said. "He gave a wonderful talk. Actually, I was there with Tom and our wives and my second student Keith Wing."
Casida, Hammock, Sparks and Wing also won the ACS International Award for their research: Casida, the inaugural winner, won it in 1969; Hammock in 1992; Sparks in 2012, and Wing in 2015.
Sparks, a native of San Francisco who grew up in a farming community in the central valley, is an internationally recognized leader in the discovery of new insect control agents, the biochemistry and toxicology of insecticides, and insecticide resistance. Formerly a professor at Louisiana State University (LSU) and then a researcher in private industry for three decades, he recently retired as a research fellow from Corteva Agriscience (formerly Dow AgroSciences).
“Tom was instrumental in the discovery and development of a new class of insecticides called spinosids,” said Hammock, who holds a joint appointment with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. Spinosad, launched in 1997, is a naturally occurring mixture of spinosyns. Sparks co-invented the next-generation semi-synthetic spinosyn-based insecticide, spinetoram, that improved the efficacy, spectrum, and residual of spinosad. Both compounds received the EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, spinosad;in 1999 and spinetoram in 2008.
Sparks praised the broad training and inspiration he received in Hammock's lab as “outstanding preparation for my future roles in science.”
Sparks served on LSU's Department of Entomology faculty from 1978 to 1989 as an insect toxicologist, achieving full professor. His research covered endocrine regulation of insect metamorphosis, insecticide resistance, and insecticide biochemistry and toxicology.
In 1989, Sparks joined the agrochemical research group, the joint venture between Eli Lilly and The Dow Chemical Company, DowElanco (later known as Dow AgroSciences). He worked in discovery research for nearly three decades.
Sparks holds 46 patents or patent applications and continues to publish widely. He has published more than 175 refereed journal publications, book chapters, and other articles. Many involve a variety of discovery efforts in innovative insecticidal chemistries.
In recognition of this work, Thomas was named R&D Magazine's 2009 Scientist of the Year, the first in the 50-year history of the award for a scientist working in the field of agriculture. He also received the ACS International Award for Research in Agrochemicals (2012) and the AGRO Award for Innovation in Chemistry of Agriculture (2015). He is a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America and, in 2018, received the Entomological Society of America Recognition Award in Insect Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology.
Other UC Davis-affiliated recipients of the Spencer Award include the late Emil Mrak, for whom Mrak Hall is named.
The award memorializes Kenneth A. Spencer (1902-1960), a Kansas City geologist, engineer, coal miner, philanthropist and owner of the Spencer Chemical Company.
(ACS contributed to this article.)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Li received the award at the society's recent meeting in Washington, D.C. The award, sponsored by the BASF Corporation, is presented annually by the ACS Division of Agrochemicals “for innovation in Chemistry of Agriculture for original research emphasizing proteomics, functional foods, food safety, pesticide analysis and chemistry and environmental fate of agrochemicals.”
“I am truly honored,” said Li, a professor in the University of Hawaii's Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.
At UC Davis from 1986-1990, he studied under the guidance of Bruce Hammock, distinguished professor of entomology, who holds a joint appointment with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center; and James Seiber, now professor emeritus, UC Davis Department of Environmental Toxicology. Li's doctoral dissertation research focused on the development of immunoassays for agrochemicals.
“Qing is a wonderful scientist,” Hammock said, "and this award is so well deserved." Li centers his research on agrochemicals. His research has resulted in more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific publications. His papers have been cited more than 6000 times. He has mentored 18 masters' students, 20 PhD students, 27 post-doctoral fellows and 20 researchers. In addition, he has hosted 32 visiting research scholars. Since 2015, Li has served as an associate editor of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
After leaving UC Davis in 1990, Li completed his post-doctoral training under the guidance of Professor John Casida at UC Berkeley and then joined the faculty of the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in 1995. He advanced to professor in 2002. Li directed the pesticide residue chemistry laboratory there from 1995 to 2013. Since 2011, he has directed the UH proteomics core facility.
"We're really proud of him," Hammock said.
Highly honored by ACS, Hammock was the first-ever recipient (1992) of the prestigious International Award for Research in Agrochemicals, sponsored by ACS. Two of his former students also received the award: Thomas Sparks in 2012 and Keith Wing in 2014.
