- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
One UC Davis doctoral alumnus and 10 current or former members of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology are listed as among the world's top two percent of entomologists in a database announced by Stanford University with data from Elsevier's “science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators.”
A separate list, gleaned from the main document, names the world's top entomologists, totaling 708. UC Davis alumnus Murray Isman, who received his doctorate in 1981 from UC Davis, studying entomology and toxicology, is ranked No. 2. He is the dean emeritus of the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Land and Food Systems and emeritus professor of entomology and toxicology at UBC.
The highest UC Davis entomologist/faculty member on that list is No. 22-ranked UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, former professor and chair of the Department of Entomology (now Department of Entomology and Nematology).
Other UC Davis entomologists on the list, in the order of ranking, are:
- Jay Rosenheim, No. 68
- Harry Kaya, 206
- Fumio Matsumura (1934-2012), 208
- James R. Carey, 232
- Robbin Thorp (1933-2019) 321
- Christian Nansen, 452
- Lester Ehler (1946-2016) 593
- Robert E. Page Jr., 548
- Frank Zalom, 557
Elsevier. Elsevier, a global information analytics company that helps institutions and professionals progress science, advance healthcare and improve performance, published its "science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators" on Oct. 4, 2023. The ranking of scientists is at https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw. It is a publicly available database "of top-cited scientists that provides standardized information on citations, h-index, co-authorship adjusted hm-index, citations to papers in different authorship positions and a composite indicator (c-score). Separate data are shown for career-long and, separately, for single recent year impact. Metrics with and without self-citations and ratio of citations to citing papers are given. Scientists are classified into 22 scientific fields and 174 sub-fields according to the standard Science-Metrix classification. Field- and subfield-specific percentiles are also provided for all scientists with at least 5 papers. Career-long data are updated to end-of-2022 and single recent year data pertain to citations received during calendar year 2022. The selection is based on the top 100,000 scientists by c-score (with and without self-citations) or a percentile rank of 2% or above in the sub-field. This version (6) is based on the October 1, 2023 snapshot from Scopus, updated to end of citation year 2022. This work uses Scopus data provided by Elsevier through ICSR Lab (https://www.elsevier.com/icsr/icsrlab). Calculations were performed using all Scopus author profiles as of October 1, 2023. If an author is not on the list it is simply because the composite indicator value was not high enough to appear on the list. It does not mean that the author does not do good work."
Scientists from China filtered the list to spotlight only entomologists. The list is at https://wxredian.com/art?id=9f6eea221698e282/.

- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's a celebration of (1) the accomplishments of the faculty entering a new chapter in their lives (2) the extraordinary retirement years of the late Robbin Thorp of the Department of Entomology and Nematology; and a congratulatory message by Chancellor Gary May.
The video is online at
https://youtu.be/s6fxdg2XZPA?si=u0SG1UvUG34zQxmV.
"Summer is nearly over, and the fall quarter begins soon," said Leal, professor of biochemistry in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and former professor and chair of the Department of Entomology (now the Department of Entomology and Nematology). "Let's pause and express our gratitude to our colleagues who transitioned to emeriti status this summer."
"For decades, they strived to make UC Davis a better place, and many will remain engaged with research, teaching, and public service," he noted.
Leal said the late Distinguished Emeritus Professor Robbin Thorp (1933-2019) epitomizes how emeriti contribute to UC Davis. Thorp, a 30-year member of the entomology faculty, and a tireless advocate of pollinator species protection and conservation, retired in 1994, but he continued working until several weeks before his death on June 7, 2019, at age 85. In 2014, he co-authored two books: Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide (Princeton University,) and California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists (Heyday). He published more than 50 percent of his papers following his retirement.
- UC Davis offered COVID tests within three weeks of our nation's first known patient with community-acquired COVID-19.
- Their research led to the development of better ceramic and glass materials;
- They helped improve military retention;
- They developed innovative techniques for shoulder and wrist reconstruction;
- They generated one of the world's largest and longest-running systems for monitoring butterfly faunas;
- They led plans for the UC Davis National Cancer Institute to be designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center;
- They are film historians who authored books such as Paris in the Dark: Going to the Movies in the City of Light, 1930-1950;
- They helped create the world's first total-body PET scanner;
- They brought a global perspective to the table to create innovative and pragmatic approaches to sustainability;
- Their research showed how music and dance articulate ethnic, gender, regional, and national identities;
- They helped us, and more importantly, lawmakers, understand how the toxic action of pesticides may affect aquatic systems and organisms;
- Their research shed light on the psychological development of young children;
- They unraveled molecular processes leading to arthritis;
- They showed how management controls facilitate strategic alliances and supply chain partnerships;
- They integrated methods from traditional engineering, operation research, and economics to solve water and environmental management problems;
- They provided comprehensive psychiatric services to ethnic and sexual minorities, including refugees and immigrants;
- They colleagues created new approaches for using plants for the production of recombinant proteins with various applications, including medicine;
- They elucidated how natural products influence the function of ion channels in the nervous system;
- They provided emergency medical care and taught nursing, air medical, EMS, and disaster medicine courses;
- They designed programs for teachers to investigate their teaching skills and students' learning;
- They investigated how plants edit and repair DNA;
- They advanced our understanding of infectious diseases and aging in nonhuman primates; and
- Their research led to improvements in bean cultivars in California, the United States, Latin America and Africa;
The video tribute includes images of many of the emeriti, meant as a small representation of the achievements of all.
In his message, Chancellor May told the new emeriti: "You played a central role in keeping UC Davis at the forefront of excellence. Your continued engagement through teaching, research, volunteering and philanthropy is vital to our continued growth and success. So I encourage you to stay engaged with campus. The UC Davis Emeriti Association is here with resources and support for this newest chapter of your career. Please take advantage of it. Thank you for our dedication to UC Davis and congratulations on reaching this milestone."
Among its many activities, UC Davis Emeriti Association (UCDEA) interviews and records emeriti who have made "significant contributions to the development of the university." See Video Records Project.

- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Leal, a leading global scientist and inventor in the field of insect olfaction and communication, is known for his impact in the fields of molecular, cellular biology and entomology.A member of RES since 2008, he was named a Fellow of RES ;in 2009 and Honorary Fellow in 2015.
The organization, founded in 1833 in London, is devoted to the understanding and development of insect science, and supporting international collaboration, research and publication. It aims “to show every person how remarkable and valuable insects are,” RES officials said.
Leal said he plans to “hone in on new ways to develop and promote diversity and inclusivity,” and “to see our global entomological community bud, bloom and flourish.”
Leal, who joined the UC Davis faculty in 2000, chaired the UC Davis Department of Entomology in 2006-2008 before accepting a position in 2008 as professor of biochemistry in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. He chairs the Council of the International Congresses of Entomology, the body that ensures the continuity of the international congresses of entomology, succeeding May Berenbaum of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“As a citizen of the world--born in Brazil, educated in Brazil and Japan, and honored as a Distinguished Professor with the University of California, Davis---I am eager to be serve as a trustee of the Royal Entomological Society and be part of the RES strategic plan to (1) move insect science forward internationally, (2) empower the global entomological community, and (3) to promote diversity and inclusivity,” Leal said.
His peers praise him for his contributions to insect science, including his teachings (he has taught insect physiology for almost 15 years); his internationally recognized research for his pioneering and innovative work in insect olfaction and communication; his publication record; his global entomological leadership; his administrative positions; and his commitment to serving humanity and engaging with scientists from all over the world.
Leal, named a UC Davis Distinguished Professor in 2016, co-chaired the 2016 International Congress of Entomology in Orlando, Fla., one of entomology's most prominent events (6,682 registrants from 102 countries).
He is a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America (2009), American Association for the Advancement of Science (2005), and the National Academy of Inventors (2019). He served as president of the International Society of Chemical Ecology, among other leadership activities.
During the COVID pandemic, Leal brought together the entomological and chemical ecology communities through various creative activities, including inventing and organizing a symposium, “Insect Olfaction and Taste in 24 Hours Around the Globe,” drawing thousands of participants from nearly 60 countries. He provided a platform for young scholars to highlight their recent work and interact with well-established scholars in the field.
Leal received his Ph.D. in applied biochemistry from the University of Tsukuba, Japan, with subsequent postdoctoral training in entomology and chemical ecology at the National Institute of Sericultural and Entomological Science and Cornell University, respectively. He was the first non-Japanese person to earn tenure at Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries.
UC Davis and RES are closely connected. Peter Cranston, emeritus professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, became an Honorary Fellow of RES in 2010. Among the RES Fellows are emeriti professors Frank Zalom (a past president of the Entomological Society of America) and Phil Ward, both of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and Art Shapiro, emeritus professor, Department of Evolution and Ecology.
As of October 2018, there are approximately 1,689 living Fellows, Foreign and Honorary Members, of whom 85 are Nobel Laureates, according to Wikipedia. Among the notables are Sir David Attenborough, Honorary Fellow; and Charles Darwin, and Albert Einstein, Fellows. RES Fellowship has been described by The Guardian as "the equivalent of a lifetime achievement Oscar."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
There's still time--and room--to register to attend virtually the New Emeriti Distinguished Lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 15 by UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Geerat Vermeij, an evolutionary biologist and paleoecologist with the UC Davis Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.
Vermeij will speak in-person at 3 p.m. to a capacity crowd in the Putah Creek Lodge on "The Evolution of Power."
Putah Creek Lodge reservations are closed, but folks can watch the seminar virtually on Zoom, announced coordinator Walter Leal, UC Davis distinguished professor of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and former chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology.
The lecture will be live-streamed on Zoom; registration is underway at https://bit.ly/3BXh0zA.
The program will include a poem by Andy Jones, continuing lecturer in the University Writing Program and a former poet laureate of the city of Davis. Leal also said that some "of our newest emeriti" will be honored.
In a pre-recorded video, Vermeij told Leal: "I'm going to talk about power. And I'm using power in the sense of physics and engineering, that is to say, energy per unit time. All kinds of biological phenomenon can be expressed in terms of power, so for example, productivity, even fitness, the use of force with respect to time and so on. And it turns out that if you think about various biological functions and interactions in terms of power, you rapidly come to see that the most powerful organisms have the greatest effect on their surroundings, in fact, they modify their own surroundings, often to their own benefit."
Vermeij is known for his work on coevolutionary telationships between predator and prey organisms, with a focus on marine mollusks. A native of The Netherlands, he lost his sight to glaucoma at age three, but did not let that deter him. Majoring in biology and geology, he graduated summa cum laudefrom Princeton University in 1968, and obtained his doctorate in biology and geology from Yale University in 1971. In 1992, Vermeij received a MacArthur Fellowship, the “genius” grant, and in 2000, was awarded the Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal from the National Academy of Sciences. (See The Shape of Life.)
The three-part New Emeriti Distinguished Lecture series "is a platform to celebrate the accomplishments of retiring colleagues,” Leal said last fall. “They have dedicated their lives to laying the foundation for UC Davis to grow into a premiere academic institution. We are very thankful for their contributions to the university's missions and for making UC Davis a better place for us to succeed."
First speaker in the series was UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Harris Lewin, renowned for his research in comparative mammalian genomics and immunogenetics. He spoke Dec. 7 on “From Chickens to Cows to Everything: Perspectives from 40 Years in Science."
The last speaker in the series is Sharon Strauss, distinguished professor emerita, Department of Evolution and Ecology, College of Biological Sciences. She will speak at 3 p.m. Monday, April 17.
Leal released a “Tribute to Our New Emeriti" video last fall, spotlighting 24 faculty members who retired in 2021-22.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
And UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Harris Lewin, renowned for his research in comparative mammalian genomics and immunogenetics, did just that when he delivered the inaugural UC Davis New Emeriti Distinguished Lecture on “From Chickens to Cows to Everything: Perspectives from 40 Years in Science."
The lecture, held Dec. 7 in the UC Davis International Center and live-streamed on Zoom to attendees from five countries (United States, South Korea, Australia, Japan and Israel), chronicled his bovine leukemia research that led to his receiving the 2011 Wolf Prize in Agriculture, an award comparable to the Nobel Prize in Agriculture.
Lewin's seminar was the first in a series of three lectures honoring new emeriti and coordinated by UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, former chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology. Lewin's lecture is online at https://youtu.be/sWzEyQTM-qQ.
“The New Emeriti Distinguished Lecture series is a platform to celebrate the accomplishments of retiring colleagues,” Leal said. “They have dedicated their lives to laying the foundation for UC Davis to grow into a premiere academic institution. We are very thankful for their contributions to the university's missions and for making UC Davis a better place for us to succeed."
All lectures are free and open to the public.
In his welcoming address, UC Davis Chancellor Gary May commented: "I'd like to thank Dr. Lewin for giving the first lecture in this series. Harris is the former vice chancellor for research and a distinguished professor emeritus in evolution and ecology. He also holds the Robert and Rosabel Osborne Endowed Chair with work that specializes in the genome evolution of mammals. Like Dr. Lewin, all of our emeriti deserve recognition. They continue to make critical discoveries in their research and scholarship across disciplines. For our new emeriti, I welcome you to this distinguished group and encourage you to stay engaged with campus. Your emeriti play a vital role in keeping our campus on an upward trajectory lending time, talents and treasure to keep our university thriving. The Emeriti Association has resources and support for this newest chapter of our career. We're grateful for your dedication to UC Davis and congratulations on reaching this milestone."
"I had numerous interactions with Harris but the the enduring memory is meeting him right in front of Briggs for coffee," Hammock said, "and he was so excited over his latest paper (genetics) that he was trembling. So he's been fun for a long time."
Lewin thanked his mentors, colleagues, collaborators, family and friends. He recalled his 27 years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he held the E.W. and J.M. Gutgsell Endowed Professorship in Immunogenetics and served as director of the University of Illinois Biotechnology Center, founding director of the W.M. Keck Center for Comparative and Functional Genomics, and founding director of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology.
Following his nearly three decades at the University of Illinois, Lewin returned to UC Davis to serve as the vice chancellor for research, 2011-2016. Then UC Davis chancellor Linda Katehi videoed how she was able to recruit him. She praised him for "the stellar job that laid the foundation" for UC Davis to reach the recent billion dollar mark in research funding.
After scores of colleagues lauded Lewin's scientific research, his daughter, Sara Lebwohl, stated that his most important title is "My Da (dy)." Granddaughter Halle, corrected her: "No, it's Grandpa Harris."
Next Two Lectures
UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Geerat Vermeij, an evolutionary biologist and paleoecologist with the UC Davis Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, will present the second in the three-part New Emeriti Distinguished Lecture series at 3 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 15 on" The Evolution of Power." It will be live-streamed on Zoom; registration is underway at https://bit.ly/3BXh0zA.
In a pre-recorded video, Vermeij told Leal: "I'm going to talk about power. And I'm using power in the sense of physics and engineering, that is to say, energy per unit time. All kinds of biological phenomenon can be expressed in terms of power, so for example, productivity, even fitness, the use of force with respect to time and so on. And it turns out that if you think about various biological functions and interactions in terms of power, you rapidly come to see that the most powerful organisms have the greatest effect on their surroundings, in fact, they modify their own surroundings, often to their own benefit."
"I've looked at the geological effect of power, in all kinds of different ways, and integrated it with our own human history which is also a history of increasing power and I've come to realize that over the great arch of geological time, so hundreds to millions to billions of years, there's been an overall increase in maximum power, that is, accomplished by the most powerful entities in the world. I discuss this at some length and will end by saying that humans have now been the first species of earth to create what I would describe as an economic and power monopoly with all the problems that it has brought."
Vermeij is known for his work on coevolutionary relationships between predator and prey organisms, with a focus on marine mollusks. A native of The Netherlands, he lost his sight to glaucoma at age three, but did not let that deter him. Majoring in biology and geology, he graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1968, and obtained his doctorate in biology and geology from Yale University in 1971. In 1992, Vermeij received a MacArthur Fellowship, the “genius” grant, and in 2000, was awarded the Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal from the National Academy of Sciences. (See The Shape of Life.)
The series of New Emeriti Distinguished Lectures concludes with the spring lecture by UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Sharon Strauss of the Department of Evolution and Ecology. It will take place at 3 p.m., Wednesday, April 19 in the International Center and also will be live-streamed on Zoom. Strauss is known for her work on how species evolve as a consequence of community membership (their complex interactions with co-occurring species); direct and indirect effects (through pollinators) of herbivory on male and female plant fitness.
Great Citizen of the Campus. In his opening remarks, Lewin described Leal "as a great citizen of the campus" and "Walter is really the only person who can pull something off like this." Leal won the Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award for his four online or virtual symposiums on COVID-19 that drew more than 6000 viewers from 35 countries. Widely recognized for his research, teaching and mentorships, Leal is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, American Association for the Advancement of Science, California Academy of Sciences, Royal Entomological Society and the Entomological Society of America (ESA). The UC Davis Academic Senate named him the recipient of its 2020 Distinguished Teaching Award for Undergraduate Teaching, and the Pacific Branch of ESA presented him with its 2020 Award of Excellence in Teaching. Leal was recently selected the 2022 recipient of the College of Biological Sciences (CBS) Faculty Teaching Award.


