Entomological Society of America Elects Hildebrand as Fellow

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Entomological Society of America Elects Hildebrand as Fellow

John G. Hildebrand

Hildebrand is a world leader in research on insect olfaction.

By Lori Stiles, UANews
September 2, 2008

The Entomological Society of America, or ESA, has elected Regents' Professor John G. Hildebrand of The University of Arizona as a 2008 ESA Fellow.

ESA Fellowships are given for outstanding contributions in entomological research, teaching, extension or administration. Hildebrand and nine other 2008 ESA Fellows are among 217 scientists who have been elected fellows since 1938.

"John long has been one of the world's leaders in research on insect olfaction and olfactory neuroethology," said Walter S. Leal of the University of California, Davis, the current president of ESA's Integrative Physiological and Molecular Insect Systems Section.

"In administration and service, John also has been a leader. He has carried the torch for research on, education about and appreciation of insects and other arthropods. Fellowship in the ESA is a fitting capstone recognition of his many endeavors that have benefited the field of entomology," Leal said.

Hildebrand is a leading neurobiologist who studies the structure and development of insect olfactory systems and their effects on insect behavior. He pioneered the use of Manduca sexta, or the tobacco hornworm moth, as a model organism for studying the organization of insects' sense of smell.

A graduate of Harvard College and Rockefeller University, Hildebrand was a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, then at Columbia University before moving to the UA in 1985 as a professor and as founding director of the Arizona Research Laboratories Division of Neurobiology, a research unit dedicated to studies of insect neurobiology and behavior.

He has served as mentor for 46 postdoctoral associates, 11 doctoral students and 57 undergraduate research students. He has written or edited nearly 200 scholarly articles and books, served as president of several scientific organizations and won numerous awards.

He has been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters abd the United Kingdom's Royal Entomological Society, in addition to receiving an Einstein Professorship in the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Others from UA who have been awarded ESA Fellowships are William S. Bowers, the late Reginald F. Chapman, John H. Law and Bruce Tabashnik.

Bowers, Law and Hildebrand founded the UA's Center for Insect Science in 1986. The center, part of Arizona Research Laboratories, is internationally renowned for insect research.

The Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index recently ranked entomology at the UA No. 2 among all major U.S. research universities in faculty scholarly productivity. The criteria included publications, citations, awards and grants from 53 faculty members in the entomology department and Center for Insect Science.