May berenbaum biography

May Roberta Berenbaum (born July 22, ) is an American entomologist whose research focuses on the chemical interactions between herbivorous insects and their host plants, and the implications of these interactions on the organization of natural communities and the evolution of species. She is particularly interested in nectar, plant phytochemicals, honey and bees, and her research has important implications for beekeeping.

She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and was named editor-in-chief of its journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in ; she is also a member of the American Philosophical Society (), and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (). She has held a Maybelle Leland Swanlund Endowed Chair in entomology since , which is the highest title a professor can hold at the University of Illinois. In , she was awarded the National Medal of Science.

Early life and education

Berenbaum graduated summa cum laude, with a B.S. degree and honors in biology, from Yale University in Berenbaum discovered an interest in entomology after taking a course on terrestrial arthropods only because it fit her schedule, and found a second passion by taking an elective course in plant biochemistry. After attending a research seminar on chemical ecology by Paul Feeny, she decided to integrate her interests in entomology and botany, and began a PhD supervised by Feeny at Cornell University. Berenbaum received her Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology in

Research

Berenbaum is known for her research into the chemistry of honey and its importance as a functional food for bees and wasps in the superfamily Apoidea. As of , approximately 20, bee species are known, but there are also signs of declines in bee populations in many countries. Berenbaum's research has shown that honey contains phytochemicals that help bees to tolerate cold, resist pesticides, fight off infections, heal wounds, and live long

May Roberta Berenbaum (born July 22, ) is an American entomologist whose research focuses on the chemical interactions between herbivorous insects and their host plants, and the implications of these interactions on the organization of natural communities and the evolution of species. She is particularly interested in nectar, plant phytochemicals, honey and bees, and her research has important implications for beekeeping.

Quotes

• I don't expect people to become entomologists or even necessarily to love bugs, but at least to think before reflexively stepping on them. They are just capable of the most amazing things, and many of the things that they do we couldn't survive on this planet without them doing.

• The best thing people can do is to stop assuming that insects don’t belong on this planet and that it’s our job to destroy them. Insects have lived on Earth far longer than humans have, in many more different places, and they’ve found at least a million different ways to make a living here—we’re living on their planet, not the other way around. My hope is not that everyone will become an entomologist but that more people will appreciate insects for their amazing diversity and adaptability.
• Scientific knowledge helps people to understand and appreciate the world and all of its complexities; it’s the best insurance against irrational fear.

External links

May Roberta Berenbaum (* Juli in Trenton, New Jersey) ist eine US-amerikanische Entomologin.

Leben

Berenbaum studierte an der Yale University mit dem Bachelor-Abschluss in Biologie und wurde an der Cornell University in Evolutionsbiologie promoviert. Danach war sie Assistant Professor und ab Professorin für Entomologie an der University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dort leitet sie die Fakultät für Entomologie.

Berenbaum befasst sich mit der chemischen Wechselwirkung von Wirtspflanzen und Insekten einschließlich Entgiftungsmechanismen der Insekten für natürliche oder synthetische Chemikalien. Sie befasste sich unter anderem mit Toxikologie von Honigbienen, Auswirkung des globalen Klimawechsels auf die Wechselwirkung von Pflanzen und Insekten, Ko-Evolution von Insekten und Pflanzen.

erhielt sie die National Medal of Science. Sie ist Fellow der National Academy of Sciences, der American Academy of Arts and Sciences und der American Association for the Advancement of Science. wurde sie gewähltes Mitglied der American Philosophical Society. Von bis erhielt sie einen Presidential Young Investigator Award. wurde sie mit der Addison-Emery-Verrill-Medaille ausgezeichnet.

Sie ist seit verheiratet und hat eine Tochter.

An ihrer Universität veranstaltet sie seit regelmäßig ein populäres Insect Fear Film Festival mit Spielfilmen, die Insektenphobien ausnutzen. Sie wurde von der North Central Branch der Entomological Society of America für ihre Lehre in Entomologie ausgezeichnet.

Schriften

• Blutsauger, Staatsgründer, Seidenfabrikanten. Die zwiespältige Beziehung von Mensch und Insekt. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg , ISBN
• The Earwig’s Tail: A Modern Bestiary of Multi-legged Legends, Harvard University Press
• Honey I’m Home-Made: Sweet Treats from the Beehive Across the Centuries and Around the World, Champaign: University of I

From an “Ecologist Directory” maintained by the ESA Education Office about Profile circa
Degree                                        Ph.D. (Cornell University)
Position                                      Head of the Department of Entomology
Department                                Department of Entomology
Organization                              University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Dr. Berenbaum is the winner of the Ecological Society of America’s Robert H. MacArthur Award, which is given biannually to an established ecologist in mid-career for meritorious contributions to ecology, in the expectation of continued outstanding ecological research.

Describe your route to a career in (or using) ecology. What challenges did you need to overcome? What was your training, and what positions have you held?
How I got into chemical ecology was more or less the result of a fundamental inability to choose among equally attractive alternatives. I knew from an early age that I wanted to be a biologist of some sort-I loved animals and plants and nature in general. What kind depended on what book I had just read-mammalogist, ornithologist, ethologist, and so on, depending on whether Gerald Durrell’s The Overloaded Ark or Joy Adamson’s Born Free or A. W. Eckert’s The Great Auk or Niko Tinbergen’s Curious Naturalists What wasn’t on the list, however, was “entomologist,” due to a deep-seated unreasoning pathological fear of insects. When I arrived at Yale as a biology major with AP credit, I was allowed to take an upper level course second semester freshman year-the only one that fit my schedule was Bio. 42b-Terrestrial Arthropods. Figuring fear stems from ignorance, I soldiered ahead, counting at least on learning which species I should be afraid of. I found instead that I had been ushered into a totally captivating world by the professor, Dr. Charles Remington, and haven’t looked back since. By junior year I had taken a course, offered by Jim Rodman,