PULLMAN, Wash. — “Insects in the Movies — Bugs on the BigScreen,” is the topic of the 1999 E. Paul Catts Memorial Lecture here,March 11.
May R. Berenbaum, head of the University of Illinois, Urbana- Champaign entomology department, will present the lecture. She is a noted insect ecologist, author of numerous scientific and popular books and articles, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Her lecture will be at 8 p.m. in Todd Hall Room 276. There will be a book signing preceding the lecture. At 9 p.m. the Third Annual Insect Cinema Cult Classic will present the 1957 film “Beginning of the End,” which features giant grasshoppers attacking Chicago.
Both lecture and film are free and open to the public.
Berenbaum overcame a childhood fear of insects after taking an introductory course in entomology as a freshman at Yale University and decided to make them part of her life’s work. She received her doctorate from Cornell University in 1980, specializing in insect ecology and evolutionary biology.
The scientist is known throughout the scientific community as a gifted researcher and an inspiring teacher. She is a Fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. In 1984, she won the National Science Foundation’s Young Investigator Award. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the highest honor bestowed by the United States on an American Scientist, in 1994.
The lectureship honors the memory of E. Paul Catts, a professor and Chair of the WSU entomology department. In addition to being an authority in the areas of medical and forensic entomology, Catts was noted for his ability to communicate effectively to a wide variety of audiences. The E. Paul Catts Memorial Lectureship features speakers who embody this spirit by their ability to make science accessible to the public.
For further information contact Steve or Carol Sheppard at 335-5180 or 335-1432.
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