- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Kaya, who joined the UC Davis faculty in 1976 and retired in 2010, has known Lynn and her husband, Robert "Bob," for more than four decades. Both the Kimseys received their bachelor and doctoral degrees in entomology from UC Davis.
"I never had Lynn in a classroom situation, but she was always helpful in helping others ID insects," Kaya said. He and Lynn worked on a McKnight Foundation potato grant project in Peru for four years. He remembers Bob as a "super student in my insect pathology class."
Lynn, then Lynn Siri, received her bachelor's degree in 1975 and her doctorate in 1979, while Bob received his bachelor's degree in 1977 and his doctorate in 1984. Lynn joined the UC Davis faculty in 1989 and has directed the Bohart Museum since 1990. Bob, a forensic entomologist, joined the UC Davis faculty in 1984 as a lecturer. Both plan to retire this year.
Harry Kaya is internationally recognized for his contributions to insect pathology and insect nematology, which include more than 250 peer-reviewed publications. He co-authored an insect pathology book in 1993; co-edited another insect pathology book in 2012; and co-edited five books in several disciplines including forest entomology, entomopathogenic nematology, and invertebrate pathology.
He was named a fellow of the Entomological Society of America (ESA) in 2007.
At the seminar, co-organizer Lynn Lebeck, then executive director of the Association of Natural Biocontrol Producers, praised him as a top-notch researcher and as "a warm human being." She recalled the "many years of fun times and great research experiences with him." (See news story)
Kaya co-founded the journal Biological Control, and served as the co-editor of the first and second editions of Field Manual of Techniques in Invertebrate Pathology, Application and Evaluation of Pathogens for Control of Insects and other Invertebrate Pests.
Born and raised in Honolulu, Harry received his bachelor's degree in entomology in 1962 from the College of Tropical Agriculture, University of Hawaii (UH). He served in the U.S. Army, and after being discharged as a first lieutenant, earned his master's degree in entomology from UH in 1964, specializing in insect ecology. In 1970, UC Berkeley awarded him his doctoral degree in entomology. with research in insect pathology.
From 1971 to 1976, Kaya worked as an entomologist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven and conducted research on biological control of forest insects. In 1976, he joined the UC Davis faculty as an assistant professor, attaining the rank of full professor in 1984. He became a distinguished professor of entomology in 2008.
Kaya chaired the Department of Nematology from 1994 to 2001. He also served as an officer in the Society of Invertebrate Pathology (treasurer, 1990–1994, vice-president, 2000–2002, and president-elect 2002–2004), and was one of the founding editors of the journal Biological Control.
Highly honored by his peers, Kaya received the 1998 C. W. Woodworth Award, the highest honor presented by the Pacific Branch, ESA. In 2000, he received the 2000 Recognition Award in Entomology from ESA and Fellow of the Society of Nematologists. The Society for Invertebrate Pathology and UH also presented him with several awards.
In honoring him as a Fellow, ESA posted this on its website: "Kaya has mentored many graduate students and post-doctoral researchers who have proceeded to establish their own careers and excel in research and teaching. His laboratory hosted and trained many visiting scientists from other countries who have become leaders in research with entomopathogenic nematodes upon their return to their own countries. These include scientists from Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Mexico, Ukraine, and Peru. Kaya maintains a strong relationship with many of them and he had research projects with scientists from Korea and Turkey."
Kaya's first four PhD students--Raquel Alatorre, Arnold Hara, Phyllis Hotchkin {Weintraub) and Robin Goblin-Davis--are all retired from their faculty and research positions. Arnold Hara died Nov. 18, 2022.
Kaya resides in Davis with his wife, Joanna. He enjoys spending time with his grandchildren and gardening, and used to fish with colleague Les Ehler (1946-2016). "No fishing since Les passed away," he related.
One of his granddaughters, Madelyn Lee, a freshman at UC Riverside, may follow in his footsteps. "She has always been interested in the biological sciences and has become an active member of the Entomology Club at Riverside. She is thinking about being an entomology major."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Jay Rosenheim was a third-year physics major at the University of California, Davis, in 1981 when—“on a lark”--he enrolled in Professor Harry Kaya's Entomology 100 course.
The professor inspired him, the class enthralled him, and insects captivated him.
In mid-term, Jay changed his major to entomology, and went on to earn two degrees in entomology (bachelor's degree from UC Davis in 1983, and doctorate from UC Berkeley in 1987); join the UC Davis faculty in 1990; and become a UC Davis distinguished professor in 2018.
The former UC Davis physics major is now a newly inducted Fellow of the 7000-member Entomological Society of America (ESA), a global honor accorded to only 10 persons annually.
Marshall Johnson, a 2006 ESA Fellow and an emeritus Cooperative Extension specialist and researcher at UC Riverside, nominated Rosenheim for the award. “Jay was my postdoc at the University of Hawaii,” Johnson said. “He did a great job and I have kept my eye on his career ever since.
ESA singled out Rosenheim at its virtual meeting for his contributions on the ecology of insect parasitoids and predators, insect reproductive behavior, and the application of big data, or "ecoinformatics," methods in agricultural entomology.
And it all began four decades ago in a UC Davis classroom. This is what occurred.
“About a month or so before the course was to be taught, I received a call from this physics student, Jay Rosenheim, who wanted to take Entomology 100,” recalled Kaya, now an emeritus professor and himself an ESA Fellow (2007) for his international contributions to insect pathology and nematology. “I asked a few questions on why he wanted to take the course. He said he always loved insects but he said he did not have the prerequisites for the class--no college biology-- but he was keenly interested in insects and really wanted to take the class.”
Kaya was actually teaching the class for Professor Robbin Thorp (1933-2019), a bee specialist on sabbatical. “At the time, I had a 25 percent teaching appointment in entomology and a 75 percent research appointment in nematology,” Kaya said. “When Martin Birch, the department chair, asked me to teach the course, I told him that I hoped he could find someone else, but he came back and said I would be the best to teach it.” Birch assigned two of Thorp's graduate students, Evan Sugden and John Skinner, as teaching assistants for the twice-a-week entomology lab.
“Jay also worked briefly in my lab as an undergraduate as well,” Kaya related. “I should add other superlatives as outstanding and world-renowned entomologist. In my view, it did not matter who taught the ENT 100 course. Jay is simply an outstanding individual and has contributed so much on his own merit. Plus, he has a great personality.”
A native of Yorktown, N.Y, young Jay developed an interest in biology while exploring the vernal pools behind his Hudson River Valley home.
His insect interests not only led to his being elected an ESA Fellow but a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; recipient of teaching awards from the Associated Students of UC Davis and the UC Davis Academic Senate; and the Distinguished Student Mentoring Award from ESA's Pacific Branch. He has authored more than 160 peer-reviewed publications, and mentored nearly 40 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, now in the private sector, conservation nonprofits, journalism, or academia.
And it all began when a physics major named Jay Rosenheim asked to enroll in Professor Harry Kaya's entomology class.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The distinction recognizes outstanding Senate faculty who have achieved the highest level of scholarship. "These are scholars whose work has been internationally recognized and whose teaching performance is excellent," according to the website.
Leal, former professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, serves as a mentor in the campuswide Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology (RSPIB), launched in 2011 and administered by UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty members professor Jay Rosenheim, associate professor Louie Yang and assistant professor Joanna Chiu.
RSPIB aims to provide academically strong and highly motivated undergraduates with a multi-year research experience that cultivates skills that will prepare them for a career in biological research. The annual deadline for undergraduates to apply is April 10.
Leal joins five other current or former faculty members of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology with the “distinguished professor” title: nematologists Howard Ferris and Harry Kaya and entomologists Bruce Hammock, Frank Zalom, Thomas Scott (now emeritus) and James R. Carey. Most are affiliated with RSPIB: Leal, insect physiology; Hammock, insect biochemistry; Zalom, integrated pest management, and Carey, insect demography.
Leal serves as co-chair the International Congress of Entomology (ICE) meeting, to take place Sept. 25-30, 2016 in Orlando, Fla.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Professor Ho Yul Choo of Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, South Korea, completed two sabbaticals in the UC Davis lab of Professor Harry Kaya and now Choo's son, Young-Moo, is a postdoctoral scholar in the UC Davis lab of chemical ecologist Walter Leal.
Young-Moo Choo, one of the authors of the ground-breaking DEET research published by the Leal lab in the Oct. 27 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, maintains close family ties with nematologist Harry Kaya, emeritus professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
As a visiting scientist, "Dr. Ho Yul Choo did two sabbaticals in my lab; the first was with his family in 1984-85 and Young-Moo attended elementary school in Davis," Kaya said. “Dr. Ho Yul Choo visited my lab a number of times and I visited his lab in Jinju a few times."
Young-Moo and his wife Hyang-A Won, an elementary teacher, have resided in Davis since Sept. 2, 2011.
Young-Moo received his doctorate at Dong-A University, Busan, South Korea, under professor Byung-Rae Jin. Young-Moo's younger brother, Young-Min Choo, is also a scientist who holds a doctorate. Young-Min will work as a postdoc in marine engineering at UC San Diego beginning in January 2005.
Leal first met Kaya in 1966. Kaya, who joined the UC Davis Department of Nematology (now the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology), in 1976, chaired the department from 1994-2001.
Both Leal and Kaya are fellows of the Entomological Society of America (ESA). Kaya was honored at a special ESA seminar in 2011, and one of the speakers was Hol Yul Choo.
The Leal lab's groundbreaking research, “Mosquito Odorant Receptor for DEET and Methyl Jasmonate” is the work of project scientist Pingxi Xu, postdoctoral scholar Young-Moo Choo, and agricultural and environmental chemistry graduate student Alyssa De La Rosa and Professor Leal. Scientists have long known that DEET, the gold standard of insect repellents for more than six decades, effectively repels mosquitoes, but now researchers in the Leal lab have discovered the exact odorant receptor that repels them. They have also identified a plant defensive compound that might mimic DEET, a discovery that could pave the way for better and more affordable insect repellents.
Related Links:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (research paper, PDF)
Leal Lab's Groundbreaking Research (news story)
Anthony Cornel: Mosquito Man
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Lewis replaces David Tebeest, University of Arkansas, as editor-in-chief. A member of the editorial board since 2002, Lewis became one of seven editors in 2009. Harry Kaya, emeritus professor of entomology and nematology at UC Davis, is a former editor-in-chief of the journal.
The multidisciplinary journal is described on the web as “an environmentally sound and effective means of reducing or mitigating pests and pest effects through the use of natural enemies. The aim of Biological Control is to promote this science and technology through publication of original research articles and reviews of research and theory. The journal encompasses biological control of viral, microbial, nematode, insect, mite, weed, and vertebrate pests in agriculture, aquatic, forest, natural resource, stored product, and urban environments.”
Topics include:
- Entomology-parasitoids, predators, and pathogens and their use through importation, augmentation, and/or habitat management strategies
- Plant pathology-antagonism, competition, cross-protection, hyperparasitism, hypovirulence, and soil suppressiveness through naturally occurring and introduced agents
- Nematology-predators, parasitoids, and pathogens in biological control through augmentation and/or habitat management strategies and suppressive soils through naturally occurring and introduced agents
- Weed science-vertebrates, invertebrates, and pathogens and their use through classical, augmentative, or bioherbicidal tactics
- Biocontrol of slugs and snails, and others.
“Basically, the journal covers the management of any populations of unwanted organisms through the use of parasites, predators and pathogens,” Lewis said.
Lewis is a member of the Entomological Society of America, Society of Invertebrate Pathology, and the Society of Nematologists. His professional service includes subject editor of the Journal of Nematology and North American editor of Biopesticides International. He is a former chair of USDA Regional Project 1024.
Lewis received his bachelor of science degree in natural resources from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.; his master’s degree in entomology from the University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo.; and his doctorate in entomology from Auburn (Ala.) University.
After receiving his doctorate, Lewis served as a post-doctoral research associate and then assistant research professor at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. He worked as a research associate in the Department of Entomology at the University of Maryland, College Park, and as an assistant professor, Department of Entomology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, before joining the UC Davis faculty as an associate professor of nematology and entomology in 2004. He was promoted to professor in 2008.
