Portrait Dr. Pat Parkman

Dr. Pat Parkman Announces Plans for Retirement

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  Entomology and Plant Pathology Research Assistant Professor Pat Parkman announced that he plans to retire effective December 31, 2021. Dr. Parkman joined the department in November 1996. Since joining EPP, Parkman conducted research on honey bee pests and developed extension materials for beekeepers; wrote several training manuals for the department’s Pesticide Safety Education Program; and served as UTIA’s IPM Coordinator, representing Tennessee in the USDA Southern Region. Parkman stated that one of his greatest achievements was serving as Director of Lindsay Young’s Beneficial Insects Laboratory. Dr. Parkman has served as Director for the last fifteen years. The focus of LYBIL is to mass rear predators of the hemlock wooly adelgid, an invasive and deadly pest of hemlock trees, which

Dr. Frank Hale and his wife posing for a photo at the 2021 Winter Banquet

Dr. Frank Hale Announces Plans for Retirement

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    Dr. Frank Hale grew up in Wilmington, Ohio. As the son of a general surgeon and naturalist, it was only “natural” for Frank to pursue science. He began on his entomology journey in the 1970s at the University of Cincinnati after meeting Dr. Tom Wood, an expert in Membracidae (treehoppers). He eventually accompanied Dr. Wood and his former classmate, Dr. Glenn Morris, who studied Tettigoniidae (katydids), to Costa Rica in 1976. During the day, he was learning treehoppers with Dr. Wood while at night, he was learning katydids with Dr. Morris. This is when Dr. Hale recalls he officially caught the “bug” of entomology. Dr. Frank Hale finds Extension entomology to be very gratifying. His co-workers and colleagues

Portrait of Dr. Sebe Brown

EPP Welcomes New Assistant Professor at the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center

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    Please help welcome Dr. Sebe Brown to EPP. Dr. Brown joined the team this past Monday, December 13, 2021, as an Assistant Professor in Fields Crops Entomology at the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center in Jackson, Tennessee. In this role, Brown will deliver a comprehensive and dynamic extension program in IPM related to common field crops grown in Tennessee (cotton, soybean, corn, and wheat). This involves supporting county agents, crops consultants, and other stakeholder groups. Dr. Brown will also play a key role in the academic life of EPP graduate students by serving as a major advisor. Brown says “a complete extension program relies on three key components to be effective: research, teaching, and outreach. These three

Dr. Hadziabdic Guerry and Dr. Trigiano Lab Published in The American Phytopathological Society

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  Sarah Boggess, Dr. Denita Hadziabdic, Dr. Robert Trigiano, and colleagues published an article this past November in The American Phytopathological Society (APS) journal. The article titled “Conventional Gel Electrophoresis and TaqMan Probes Enable Rapid Confirmation of Thousand Cankers Disease From Diagnostic Samples“, discusses thousand cankers disease (TCD) and improved and rapid detection protocols.  For the full article, click here.

a group of people in a conference room socializing

Social Committee Hosts the 2021 Winter Banquet

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                                    On Friday, December 10, 2021, the EPP Annual Winter Banquet was held. During this event, many students, staff, faculty, and their families celebrated the end of the year. During the banquet, a game of trivia began that featured questions on the subject of entomology, plant pathology, pop culture, and geography. However, in the end, the table featuring Dean Xin, Dr. Bonnie Ownley, Dr. Ernest Bernard, Dr. Windham, Sarah Collins, and their families won first place. Students Amira Cornish, Julian Cosner, Gary Edwards, Trinity Hamm, Kassie Hollabaugh, and Elias Zuchelli were acknowledged. These six students have graduated during the 2021 year and have achieved

Students, staff, and faculty sitting at tables and standing at the end of the Fall Semester 2021 Coffee with the Department Head event

Social Commitee Hosts Coffee with Department Head

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  Our social committee hosted Coffee with the Department Head. Coffee with the Department Head is a time when our students, staff, and faculty get together in support of each other to discuss topics that relate to research, personal and professional development and so much more. We hope that everyone has learned something new today and enjoyed a delicious breakfast. Today’s event featured a few holiday sweaters!    

Portrait of Matthew Huff

Matt Huff’s Publication – High Quality Reference Genome for Fraxinus pennsylvanica

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                                Recently, a research associate and doctoral student, Matthew Huff, published an article titled “A high quality reference genome for Fraxinus pennsylvanica for ash species restoration and research”. The Fraxinus pennsylvanica, green ash tree, is distributed across North America, and due to a small percentage of these native trees remaining healthy, they are known as the “lingering ash”. To read the full article and find out more about the research being conducted on Fraxinus pennsylvanica, visit here.