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A black and white outline of the Entemology and Plant Pathology building.

April Calendar of Events 
Event Date
Defense Seminar – Samantha Hittson April 2
Faculty Meeting April 4
Seminar – Dr. Elshahed April 2
Seminar – Dr. Yan April 11
Seminar – Juana Muller, Jaeley Gattis, and Jing Zhang April 18
ENPP Student and Faculty Recognition Awards April 18
Seminar – Dr. Velarde April 25
Pre-finals Week Begins April 28

May Calendar of Events
Event Date
Pre-finals Week Continues May 1-2
Finals Week May 5-9
Graduate Commencement May 9
Undergraduate Commencement May 10
Memorial Day – University Holiday May 26

Congratulations!

Sulav Paul received 2nd place in the graduate poster presentation at the 21st BMBGSA Annual Research Symposium on February 20-21 in the Noble Research Center, organized by the OSU Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Graduate Student Organization.

 

Angelique Robinson, a double major in Entomology and Psychology with a minor in Microbiology from Mustang, Oklahoma, was named a 2025 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar on March 28.  She received this prestigious national scholarship for her innovative research on cardiac muscle regeneration.  


Southwestern Branch of the Entomological Society of America

The Southwestern Branch Meeting of the ESA was held on March 23-26 in Round Rock, Texas.  Congratulations to the many people who won awards!

 

  • Jakob West – Percival Scientific Undergraduate Entomology Student Activity Award
  • Walker Jones – Undergraduate Student Achievement in Entomology Award
  • Amelea Jones – Master’s Student Graduate Award
  • Alex Harman – John Henry Comstock Graduate Student Award
  • Gillian Struble – 1st Place Undergraduate Oral Presentation
  • Elizabeth Carlson – 3rd Place Undergraduate Oral Presentation
  • Amelea Jones – 1st Place M.S. Oral Presentation
  • Ashley Di Agostino – 3rd Place M.S. Oral Presentation
  • Alex Harman – 1st Place Ph.D. Poster
  • Rodrigo Soares – 2nd Place Ph.D. Poster
  • Samantha Hittson, Gideon Morris, Rodrigo Soares, and Jared Saufley, with Wyatt Ringer, alternate – 1st Place Entomology Games

Departmental Seminars

Seminars will be held at 2:30 p.m. in Room 108 NRC.

Date Speaker Title
April 4 Dr. Mustafa Elshahed Diversity, Ecology, and Evolution of Anaerobic Fungi in the Herbivorous Alimentary Tract
April 11 Dr. Liuling Yan (Zoom) Harnessing Disease Resistance Genes for Sustainable Wheat Breeding
April 18 Luana Muller, Jaeley Gattis, and Jing Zhang Introductory Seminars
April 25 Dr. Olmedo Velarde TBA

Alumnus News

Dr. Paul Rensner (M.S. 1985) retired from full-time work at the end of February 2024, but continues working on a small retainer with SynTech Research (a global contract services group for agricultural R&D) where he assists with field research and demonstration questions and plans.  During his full-time stint with SynTech, he managed field trial programs for sponsored companies.  He began his career as a Field Research and Development/ Insecticide Discovery Team Leader and Product Development Manager for American Cyanamid from 1989 to 2022, and then he was a Global Field Development Manager for BASF from 2000-2002.  In February 2002, he began working for FMC Corporation, first as a Manager for Biology and Global Field Development and Product Development Manager, and then beginning in November 2012 as a Manager for Global Field Development and Global Biology Lead until June 2015.  From February 2016 to August 2017, he was the Director of Field Research for SGS North America.  He began working as a private Agricultural Research and Development Consultant and Contractor from his home in Yardley, Pennsylvania in 2018.  In July 2019, he began his role as the U.S. Field Development Coordinator for Valagro until November 2021.  He began his position as Research and Development Project Manager for SynTech in January 2022 until his retirement in February 2024.  Dr. Rensner received his B.S. degree in Biology with a concentration in Ecology, Ethology, and Evolution from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 1980, his M.S. degree in Entomology from OSU in 1985 under the direction of Dr. W. Scott Fargo, and his Ph.D. degree in Entomology from Purdue University in 1989.


April Birthdays

Name Date
Bill Massey April 1
Francisco Ochoa Corona April 1
Meredith Mitchell     April 6
Allison Fesler April 7
Luana Muller  April 7
Avanelle Hosey April 11
Jacob Long April 13
Akhtar Ali April 15
Kelly Vierling April 17
Sharon Hillock April 19
Olivia Shuyler April 22
Samantha Hittson April 24
Haobo Jiang April 24
LaFonda Barrera April 27
Lisa Coburn April 27
Kylie Spradling April 28
Kellie Vidal April 28
William Drew April 29

 

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