The NAS/IUSSI spinoff meeting, organized by Mike Breed near Nederland, CO last September, drew over 90 attendees and was unanimously considered a success and a great idea that should be repeated. The minutes of this and the ESA's business meeting will appear in the Spring Newsletter. A big thanks and congratulations to Mike Breed and his colleagues for a wonderful scientific and natural experience in the mountains near Nederland. Future spinoff meetings were discussed in Nederland and will be discussed again in Nashville. See you there.
We have two excellent candidates in Jennifer Fewell and Gene Robinson. See links for a brief biography of each. Cast your ballot by December 12, 1997. VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!!!
Keep track of the latest developments on the XIII International IUSSI Congress to be held in Adelaide Australia in Dec/Jan 1998-99, on their web site (www.bio.flinders.edu.au:80/iussi/home.htm).
Its time to start thinking about your Insectes Sociaux subscription and membership renewal for 1998. A renewal/membership form is on the last page of the Newsletter. If I do not have a record of your payment for 1997 I will indicate so on the renewal form (then you actually do have to pay twice). I will also indicate on the renewal for if you have paid twice (or thrice) this year, and therefore do not have to renew for 1998. We will assume that the subscription prices relative to the exchange rate will be unchanged.
Jennifer Fewell: I went to Cornell as an undergraduate, and did my graduate work on the foraging ecology of harvester ants with Mike Breed at University of Colorado, Boulder. I received my PhD in 1988. My postdoctoral work was with Mark Winston at Simon Fraser University (British Columbia) on the foraging regulation in honey bee colonies. My current interest is in the evolution of social structure and division of labor in social insects. I use both honey bees and ants as empirical models.
I have been a member of IUSSI since 1983. I have volunteered as a student competition judge at the Entomology meetings, and on the Paris International Meeting travel awards committee. I am currently working with Kirk Visscher on a website for the IUSSI-NAS group where we will post the newsletter, directory information, membership renewal forms and other pertinent society information, as well as links to other relevant sites.
Gene E. Robinson: Gene E. Robinson is interested in endocrine, neural, and genetic mechanisms of social behavior. He has studied most extensively the control of division of labor in honey bee colonies. Gene obtained his Ph.D. From Cornell University in 1986 under the direction of Roger Morse. He was a postdoctoral associate in the laboratory of Robert Page at Ohio State University for three years and then joined the faculty of the Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois as an assistant professor in 1989. He was promoted to associate professor in 1994.
Robinson's research has been funded by grants from NSF, NIH, and the USDA, and he has over 100 publications to date. Among his honors are election as Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1996 and an invitation to deliver the Charles D. Michener Lectures at the University of Kansas in 1997.
A position is available for a Research Technician in the field of molecular systematics and molecular ecology, to assist in a project on the evolution of the symbiosis between fungus-growing ants (Attini) and their fungi. Candidates should have a strong background in molecular genetics and sequencing, preferably related to either insects or fungi. Experience in primer development, microsatellites, or cloning would be advantageous, but is not essential. The technician will work in the laboratories of Dr. Ulrich Mueller (Department of Zoology, University of Maryland) and Dr. Ted Schultz (Laboratory of Molecular Systematics, Smithsonian Institution). Organizational skills and an ability to instruct students in molecular techniques are desirable. The appointment will be for one year and is extendible for an additional 2 years. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Please direct informal inquiries to either Dr. Ted Schultz (e-mail: schultz@onyx.si.edu) or Dr. Ulrich Mueller (e-mail: mueller@zool.umd.edu). Applicants should send a curriculum vitae and names, addresses and phone numbers of two referees to: Dr. Ulrich Mueller, Department of Zoology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742.
Ulrich Mueller (mueller@zool.umd.edu) and Ted Schultz (schultz@onyx.si.edu) are compiling literature on fungus-growing ants. If you have published anything ever on fungus-growing ants (even conference abstracts, OTS project writeups, or whatever), we would appreciate if you could send us copies of these publications (preferably in duplicate). Please send to Ulrich Mueller, Department of Zoology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. Thanks A LOT in advance.
We have scheduled a Tuesday evening Business Meeting at the ESA meeting. Hope to see you there. For those of you planning to go to the ESA meeting in Nashville - The ESA has set up a Web-site that contains lots of useful information about the meeting and the ESA in general. The address is http://www.entsoc.org.
This congress is organized by the International Society of Hymenopterists and will be held in Canberra, Australia, two weeks after the Adelaide IUSSI Congress. The conference has several themes that will interest many IUSSI delegates. Further information can be obtained from their web site at http://iris.biosci.ohio-state.edu/ish/
Kirk Visscher and Jennifer Fewell will combine their efforts to create an NAS/IUSSI web site (YOU ARE READING IT!). If you have any suggestions or comments please contact them.
Kirk Visscher - visscher@citrus.ucr.edu Jennifer Fewell - j.fewell@asu.eduDeadline Extended - The winner will be announced at the ESA meeting, so there is no time to lose. Get your candidate's nomination in as soon as possible!!
Purpose: To recognize research by graduate students in the field of social insect biology for work done in North America or by a student member of IUSSI/NAS pursuing studies elsewhere.
Nature: The award shall consist of a certificate, an honorarium (amount to be determined by Executive Committee) and one year subscription to Insectes Sociaux. The award will be presented at the annual IUSSI/NAS business meeting.
Eligibility: The award will be given to the student(s), who in the opinion of the judging committee, shows the most distinguished record of research and scholarly activity in the area of social insect biology. Any student doing work in North America or any student member of IUSSI/NAS may be nominated. The student shall not have received a PhD or terminated studies earlier than 12 months prior to the award. Students continuing beyond a baccalaureate or masters degree will remain eligible. Previous award recipients are not eligible for a second award.
Nominations: Nominations may be made by the student or by others familiar with his or her work. Each nomination must be typed (double-spaced) and include: name and curriculum vitae of the student nominee; title and brief (not to exceed one page) description of the work; reprints of up to two publications; submitted manuscripts or a thesis/dissertation; and at least two letter of recommendation. The proposal and supporting information, three copies of each, must be sent to the Chair of the IUSSI/NAS Student Award Committee by October 1. A biographical sketch should be included.
Student Award Committee: The Student Award Committee shall consist of three members, serving staggered terms of three years. A new member shall be elected each year at the annual business meeting of IUSSI/NAS. The senior member shall serve as chair of the committee. Members shall be from separate institutions. Consideration should be given to representation from a diversity of social insect taxonomic groups, and research specialties when electing the new member.
Committee Charge: The Award Committee shall be responsible for (1) soliciting and ranking nominations and selecting the awardee, (2) notifying the awardee, and (3) announcing the award at the annual business meeting and in the section newsletter. Attendance at the business meeting by the awardee is encouraged but not required.
Judging: The Award Committee members shall independently review nominations and rank them. Priority shall be given to proposal demonstrating originality and good scientific methodology in the field of interest. The Award Committee chair will summarize the results and discuss them with the other judges as needed to reach a consensus.