Some 3000 researchers, professors, graduate and undergraduate students, extension service personnel, administrators, research technicians, consultants, and others from around the globe will gather at the 61st annual lmeeting of the Entomological Society of America (ESA) "for four days of science, networking and fun," according to ESA spokesman Richard Levine. "This is the most important annual conference anywhere in the world for the science of entomology."
The theme: “Science Impacting a Connected World."
At the conclusion of the conference, integrated pest management specialist Frank Zalom, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will assume the duties of president of the 6500-member organization. He'll preside over the 62nd annual meeting, to be held in 2014 in Portland, Ore.
Zalom will become the second UC Davis entomologist to head the international organization, which is comprised of members in educational institutions, health agencies, private industry and government. The first president from UC Davis was Donald McLean, former professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, who was elected ESA president in 1984.
Zalom has been heavily involved in research and leadership in integrated pest management (IPM) activities at the state, national and international levels. He directed the UC Statewide IPM Program for 16 years (1988-2001) and is currently experiment station co-chair of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) National IPM Committee.
Zalom focuses his research on California specialty crops, including tree crops (almonds, olives, prunes, peaches), small fruits (grapes, strawberries, caneberries), and fruiting vegetables (tomatoes), as well as international IPM programs. ??The IPM strategies and tactics Zalom has developed include monitoring procedures, thresholds, pest development and population models, biological controls and use of less toxic pesticides, which have become standard in practice and part of the UC IPM Guidelines for these crops.??In his three decades with the UC Davis entomology department, Zalom has published almost 300 refereed papers and book chapters, and 340 technical and extension articles. The articles span a wide range of topics related to IPM, including introduction and management of newer, soft insecticides, development of economic thresholds and sampling methods, management of invasive species, biological control, insect population dynamics, pesticide runoff mitigation, and determination of host feeding and oviposition preferences of pests. ??The Zalom lab has responded to six important pest invasions in the last decade, with research projects on glassy-winged sharpshooter, olive fruit fly, a new biotype of greenhouse whitefly, invasive saltcedar, light brown apple moth, and the spotted wing Drosophila. (See Frank Zalom's Video on Extending Orchard IPM Knowledge in California)
Zalom is a fellow of ESA, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the California Academy of Sciences and is the recipient of scores of other high honors.
Meanwhile, if you're an entomologist or a wanna-be entomologist, Austin is the place to be Nov. 10-13.
Truly, "Science Impacting a Connected World."
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