​Entomology faculty member Dr. Paula Shrewsbury has been promoted to Full Professor!
 
Paula Shrewsbury has maintained a very active research and extension since joining UMD Department of Entomology in 1999. Her nationally and internationally recognized extension program identify methods to restore plant and insect community dynamics to create sustainable urban landscapes, nurseries, and turf systems, with an emphasis on biological control and conservation of natural enemies and pollinators. The program also examines the ecology and management of invasive species in managed and natural environments.
 
Over the years Paula has presented at more than 300 events reaching over 20,000 stakeholders. Events include conferences, in-service trainings, green industry meetings, and field days. In addition to face-to-face trainings, Paula writes in the Weekly Landscape and Nursery IPM Pest Alert Newsletter reaching even more people. Her columns "Beneficial of the Week" and "Pest Prediction Calendar.” In recognition of Paula’s many achievements in extension, she received the Entomological Society of America’s 2018 Distinguished Achievement Award in Extension.
 
Dr. Shrewsbury has made significant contributions to teaching as well. Paula’s popular course, Insect Pests of Ornamentals and Turf (BSCI497) is being taught this Fall. She also is currently advisor to undergraduate researchers and postdoctoral associates.
 
Congratulations on this well-deserved promotion!  
 
Learn more about Paula Shrewsbury here.   

Entomology faculty member Bretton Kent has been promoted to Principal Lecturer!

Brett Kent has a long standing and exemplary record with the department of entomology. Brett has been an instructor and Director of Undergraduate Studies with the Department since his recruitment to Entomology in 1997. Brett has taught many courses along the way, most recently  4 major courses Organismal Biology, Biology of Extinct Animals, Biology of Extinct Animals Laboratory  and Teaching & Professional Development in Biology. As Undergraduate Director he tirelessly coordinates the teaching, scheduling of classes and advising with the Department and with the College, all while maintaining a research program on extinct animals. 
 
In addition to Brett’s teaching, advising and administrative roles Brett maintains an active independent research program. Notably, Brett has been involved in the Smithsonian based project documenting vertebrae fossils in Calvert Cliffs. Last Sept. “The Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, USA”, was published in Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology, the first comprehensive review of fossils from Calvert Cliffs published in over a century! As part of this project Brett worked with a colleague to name a new species of extinct giant thresher shark that would have been the size of a modern great white shark. To boot, Brett was a coauthor on a paper documenting the evolution of Carcharocles megalodon from the ancestral species, C. chubutensis that was published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology this Spring.
 
Congratulations on this well-deserved promotion!
 
Learn more about Dr. Kent here. 

Amy Brown started with the Department of Entomology in 1982 as Coordinator of Pesticide Education & Assessment Programs (PEAP), a program she continues to coordinate today. PEAP enhances protection of human health and the environment through eduction on sound pesticide use and policy assistance. Through this program, Amy seeks to improve pesticide applicators' knowledge to minimize potential effects on human health and the environment and to increase the health care community's understanding of pesticide-related illnesses. 

In 1993, Amy joined our faculty. Throughout her distinguished career, Dr. Brown has been a valued researcher, instructor, supervisor and mentor. Amy’s research and extension work has led to more than 200 publications. She has served for many years on pesticide advisory panels and review committees at the state and federal levels, and her work is recognized locally, nationally and internationally. Dr. Brown has taught graduate level courses and undergraduate Honors courses including HONR228G: Are You Really Gonna Eat That? – Food Ethics, which she developed in 2015. She also supervised 7 masters students throughout her career and served as one of three Departmental undergraduate advisors for several years.  

Over the years, Amy has received many recognitions for her achievements including the USDA Secretary's Award for Environmental Protection, and was a U.S. EPA Honoree for “significant contributions to pesticide safety education to protect human health and the environment”. In 2009, Dr. Brown was named a Fellow of the American Association of Pesticide Safety Educators.
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Congratulations, Amy, on this well-deserved appointment. We look forward to your activities in retirement.

​The University of Maryland Graduate School awarded Associate Professor, Jeffrey Shultz, the Outstanding Director of Graduate Studies Award! 

🎉Congratulations, Jeff!  

​Since the dawn of agriculture thousands of years ago, humans have altered the global landscape. Humans transported crop species and plants across the world for feed and harvest. Agriculture allowed for modern civilization to progress, ultimately resulting in the construction of cities, urban and suburban areas. As humans move further and further away from natural landscapes, it comes at a significant cost to communities of various organisms. With these human-induced changes in mind, Dr. Kim (La Pierre) Komatsu (Fig. 1) of the Smithsonian Environment Research Center studies plant communities and connections to ecosystem processes. Dr. Kim investigates interactions between plant communities and plant biomass accumulation, insect herbivores, and nutrient acquisition, always considering how global change affects such interactions. 

Entomology nearly swept the board with CMNS Awards this year. Congratulations to all the award winners on these well-deserved recognitions!

Board of Visitors Junior Faculty Award-Kelly A. Hamby
Board of Visitors Creative Educator Award- Tammatha O'Brien 
Board of Visitors Outstanding Graduate Student Award- Brian Lovett
Dean’s Outstanding Employee Award- Greg Hess

CMNS will honor the college's award winners at the CMNS Academic Festival. 

When: Friday, May 3, 2019 2:00 p.m.
Where: Physical Sciences Complex Lobby

Please join us as we celebrate with our colleagues.