In addition, he and his wife, Jennifer Becker , a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Noel Keen's laboratory, visited universities in the People's Republic of China in November as invited guests of the Zheijang Provincial Government. Dr. Becker set up a cooperative biocontrol project with a research group at the Zheijang University in Hagzhou. Professor Brian A. Federici of the Department of Entomology was selected as the Founders' Research Lecturer for 2000 by the Society for Invertebrate Pathology, an international group of about 800 members dedicated to the study of the diseases of insects and other invertebrates. He will give the keynote address at the society's annual meeting in August in Mexico.
More information is available from the group's online newsletter .
In addition, Dr. Federici has been appointed to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Scientific Advisory Panel on Genetically Engineered Crops. Victor Gibeault , Chair of Cooperative Extension and Environmental Horticulture Specialist with the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, received the 1999-2000 Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award presented by the agriculture honorary society Gamma Sigma Delta. Professor of Plant Physiology Jodie S. Holt was elected in February as a fellow of the Weed Science Society of America. The honor is given to only .3 percent of the active membership each year and recognizes the importance of Holt's research on weed ecology and physiology, her contributions as a mentor and teacher, and her meritorious service to the Society. Assistant Professor of Chemistry Michael J. Marsella won a 1999 DuPont Young Professor Award, which encourages original research and aids promising young researchers as they start their academic careers.