Gwen Pearson

Last updated
Gwen Pearson
Alma mater North Carolina State University Ohio State University
Awards2016 Medal of Honor Entomological Foundation.
Scientific career
Institutions Purdue University

North Carolina State University University of Texas of the Permian Basin

Contents

Albion College

Gwen Pearson is a science writer and education coordinator in the Department of Entomology at Purdue University.

Education

Pearson completed a Bachelors in Zoology at Ohio State University in 1984. [1] In 1991, Pearson testified before a Congressional Hearing to request that the tax-exempt status of graduate student stipends should be maintained. [2] She completed her graduate studies at North Carolina State University in 1992, where she worked on sesiid pheromone biology. [3] [4] [5]

Career

Pearson joined University of Texas of the Permian Basin as an Assistant Professor in 1992. [6] In 1994 she won a National Science Foundation grant, "Behavioral Responses to Conspecific and Confamilial Pheromones". [7] She joined Albion College as a biology professor in 1996, where she served insect food. [8] In 1997 with a grant from Michigan Campus Compact, Pearson designed a program to introduce children to Entomology. [9]

In 2002 Pearson moved to Michigan State University, and became the Assistant Director for Education and Outreach at Kellogg Biological Station in 2007. During her time at KBS, she served as a member of the Governing Board of the Organization of Biological Field Stations, an international consortium of research stations. [10] In 2004 Pearson started blogging under the pseudonym Bug Girl, ranked in the top 50 science blogs globally in 2009. [11] [12]

She started writing the Charismatic Minifauna for Wired Magazine in 2013. [13] In 2015 she began work as Outreach Coordinator for Purdue's Department of Entomology. [14] She is a freelance science writer whose work has featured in Wired , Mental Floss, Science Magazine, National Geographic and Nature . [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] She is the entomological expert of The Washington Post. [21] She has appeared on US Public Radio. [22] [23]

She won the 2016 Medal of Honour from the Entomological Foundation, the highest award presented by the Foundation. [24] She won the Bobby Pass Student Choice award in 2016. [25] Writer Chuck Wendig dedicated his book Invasive to Pearson. [26]

Pearson founded "EntoAllies" in 2014 to create a network of visible colleagues at professional Entomological meetings to serve as support for those who have been harassed and bullied. This paralleled introduction of a code of conduct for the Entomological Society of America. [27] The Ento-Allies are a semi-structured way to make reporting bad behavior easier, and to help conference attendees get the support they need. They do not enforce the code of conduct, but support victims of abuse. [28] [29] [30]

In 2017, she was selected to lead the Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting Plenary session with Mary Roach. [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firefly</span> Family of beetles

The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production of light, mainly during twilight, to attract mates. Light production in the Lampyridae is thought to have originated as a warning signal that the larvae were distasteful. This ability to create light was then co-opted as a mating signal and, in a further development, adult female fireflies of the genus Photuris mimic the flash pattern of the Photinus beetle in order to trap their males as prey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Entomological Society</span> British scientific society

The Royal Entomological Society is devoted to the study of insects. Its aims are to disseminate information about insects and improving communication between entomologists.

Doris Daou is a Lebanese-born Canadian-American astronomer who was formerly the Director for Education and Public Outreach of the NASA Lunar Science Institute and the associate director of the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI), and is currently the program contact for NASA's "Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx)".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown marmorated stink bug</span> Species of Pentatomid insect

The brown marmorated stink bug is an insect in the family Pentatomidae, native to China, Japan, Korea, and other Asian regions. In September 1998, it was collected in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where it is believed to have been accidentally introduced. The nymphs and adults of the brown marmorated stink bug feed on over 100 species of plants, including many agricultural crops, and by 2010–11 had become a season-long pest in orchards in the Eastern United States. In 2010, in the Mid-Atlantic United States, $37 million in apple crops were lost, and some stone fruit growers lost more than 90% of their crops. Since the 2010s, the bug has spread to countries such as Georgia and Turkey and caused extensive damage to hazelnut production. It is now established in many parts of North America, and has recently become established in Europe and South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">May Berenbaum</span> American entomologist

May Roberta Berenbaum 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.

<i>Cimex</i> Genus of true bugs

Cimex is a genus of insects in the family Cimicidae. Cimex species are ectoparasites that typically feed on the blood of birds and mammals. Two species, Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus, are known as bed bugs and frequently feed on humans, although other species may parasitize humans opportunistically. Species that primarily parasitize bats are known as bat bugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ORCID</span> Code to uniquely identify scientific and other academic authors

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Erica McAlister Hon.FRES is an entomologist, museum curator and presenter in the United Kingdom. She is an expert in flies (Diptera) and is senior curator at the Natural History Museum, London. She is a past President of the Amateur Entomologists' Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosemary Gillespie (biologist)</span> American evolutionary biologist

Rosemary Gillespie is an evolutionary biologist and professor of Environmental Science, Policy & Management, Division of Insect Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. She was the President of the American Genetics Association in 2018 and was previously President of the International Biogeography Society 2013–2015. From 2011 to 2013 she had served at the president of the American Arachnological Society. As of 2020 she is the faculty director of the Essig Museum of Entomology and a Professor and Schlinger Chair in systematic entomology at the University of California, Berkeley. Gillespie is known for her work on the evolution of communities on hotspot archipelagoes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Leal</span> Brazilian entomologist (born 1954)

Walter Soares Leal is a Brazilian biochemist and entomologist who is known for identifying pheromones and mosquito attractants, and elucidating a mechanism of action of the insect repellent DEET.

Lisa D. White is an American geologist and director of Education and Outreach at the University of California Museum of Paleontology. White is a former professor of geosciences and associate dean of the College of Science and Engineering at San Francisco State University. She was elected to the California Academy of Sciences in 2000 and as a Fellow of the Geological Society of America in 2009. White was awarded her PhD in 1989 from the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 2022 the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) presented White with the 2022 "Friend of Darwin" award.

Christina Grozinger is an American entomologist, the Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology at Pennsylvania State University and the director at its Center for Pollinator Research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Ferrini-Mundy</span> American mathematics educator

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Ware</span> American entomologist

Jessica Lee Ware is a Canadian-American evolutionary biologist and entomologist. She is the associate curator of invertebrate zoology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. In addition, she is a principal investigator at the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics and an associate professor for the Richard Gilder Graduate School.

Catherine (Cathy) Drennan is an American biochemist and crystallographer. She is the John and Dorothy Wilson Professor of Biochemistry professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a professor at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tara C. Smith</span> American epidemiologist and science communicator

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Maria Alma Solis is an entomologist at the Systematic Entomology Laboratory (SEL) of the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Luke Tilley FRES FRSA is a British entomologist and science communicator. He is Director of Communications and Engagement at the Royal Entomological Society and Insect Week Coordinator in the UK.

Ashleigh Whiffin is an entomologist in the UK. She is a curator at the National Museum of Scotland and a specialist in carrion beetles (Silphidae).

Baldwyn Torto is a Ghanaian scientist. He is a chemical ecologist, and a Principal Scientist at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE). He also doubles as an extraordinary professor and the head of Behavioural and Chemical Ecology Unit, Department of Zoology and Entomology at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He is a fellow of the Entomological Society of America, a fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, and a member of the American Chemical Society.

References

  1. "Newsletter of the Michigan Entomological Society" (PDF). Michigan Entomological Society. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  2. ERIC (1992). ERIC ED342300: Oversight Hearing on the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965: Raleigh, North Carolina. Hearing before the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education of the Committee on Education and Labor. House of Representatives, One Hundred Second Congress, First Session (Raleigh, NC, June 28, 1991).
  3. Pearson, G. A.; Schal, Coby (1999-12-01). "Electroantennogram Responses of Both Sexes of Grape Root Borer (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) to Synthetic Female Sex Pheromone". Environmental Entomology. 28 (6): 943–946. doi: 10.1093/ee/28.6.943 . ISSN   0046-225X.
  4. "Gwen A. Pearson - Google Scholar Citations". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  5. ORCID. "Gwen Pearson (0000-0002-1738-0244) - ORCID - Connecting Research and Researchers". orcid.org.
  6. "Ben Stein: This Is What Academic Intimidation Looks Like". Mike the Mad Biologist. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  7. "NSF Award Search: Award#9407968 - RPG: Behavioral Responses to Conspecific and Confamilial Pheromones". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  8. "Battle Creek Enquirer from Battle Creek, Michigan on November 30, 1999 · Page 3". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  9. "Io Triumphe! A magazine for alumni and friends of Albion College". Issuu. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  10. "OBFS: Annual Report" (PDF). Organization of Biological Field Stations. 2012. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  11. "Social Media for Science Outreach – A Case Study: Career changing and pseudonyms". SpotOn: Science policy, outreach and tools online. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  12. Entomological Society of America (2011-11-30), Bug Girl Interview at Entomology 2011 , retrieved 2018-02-15
  13. "Charismatic Minifauna". Wired. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  14. "Cornell Bet Program : Events | Gwen Pearson, Wired magazine". www.best.cornell.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-02-13. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  15. "Honeybees Go "Whoop!" When They Bump Into Each Other". 2017-02-16. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  16. "A Horrifying List of Creatures That Can Crawl Into Your Body". 2017-02-14. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  17. "Gwen Pearson". www.wired.com. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  18. "Gwen Pearson". muckrack.com. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  19. Pearson, Gwen (2016-07-23). "Tick season is here, and it's time to learn how to stop the suckers". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  20. "Gwen Pearson". Science. 2016-12-14. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  21. Bever, Lindsey (2017-02-13). "Woman claims flesh-eating screwworms ate her 'from the inside out'". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  22. "#230 - Bug Music: Science for the People". www.scienceforthepeople.ca. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  23. "Episode 31: Ask Sam | Snow Fleas, Wind, Mount Mitchell". Outside/In. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  24. "Entomological Foundation Names Winners of 2016 Awards". The Entomological Foundation. Archived from the original on 2018-02-16. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  25. "H. Garman Entomology Club, University of Kentucky, 2018". www.glunis.com. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  26. "Chuck Wendig: An Invasive Interview". Locus Online. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  27. "ESA's Code of Conduct - Entomological Society of America". www.entsoc.org. 22 March 2024.
  28. Reece, Robert L.; Hardy, Margaret C. (1 September 2017). "Moving Beyond Metrics: A Primer for Hiring and Promoting a Diverse Workforce in Entomology and Other Natural Sciences". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 110 (5): 484–491. doi: 10.1093/aesa/sax059 .
  29. "Developing Anti-Harassment Programs in Academic Societies and Meetings: A Resource Guide" (PDF). University of Michigan ADVANCE Program. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-06-15.
  30. "Steps to Building a No-Tolerance Culture for Sexual Harassment - Eos". eos.org. 28 January 2016.
  31. "Mary Roach: A "Gateway Drug" for Science". Entomology Today. 2017-11-06. Retrieved 2018-02-22.