April Award Round-Up
The Department is pleased to announce numerous awards and achievements earned by members of the Entomology community here at UW-Madison!
At the 2026 CALS Awards on April 28:
- Russ Groves was awarded the Donald R. Peterson Farm Technology Transfer Award. The Donald R. Peterson UW Memorial Fund was established in 1999 for the purpose of remembering and paying tribute to the outstanding service and dedication of Don Peterson during his long career with the UW, graduating with degrees in agronomy and soil science and serving as associate dean for extension and director of Wisconsin Farm Progress Days, Inc.
- Claudio Gratton was awarded the Robert G. F. and Hazel T. Spitze Land Grant Faculty Award for Excellence. The donors, Bob and Hazel Spitze, established this fund to honor contributions made by faculty in CALS or the School of Human Ecology, the academic units where the Spitzes earned their UW degrees. The award recognizes and encourages faculty who exemplify the Land Grant philosophy through combined excellence in research, teaching, and outreach.
- Christelle Guedot was awarded the CALS Community Builder Award at the 2026 CALS Awards. This award recognizes individuals who work to build a positive community in CALS, going above and beyond their regular job duties to provide a welcoming environment to other faculty and staff, as well as students.
- Emily Laabs and Hannah Gaines Day received the Academic Staff Excellence Award. Recipients of this award represent the vital contributions of more than 700 academic staff members to the mission of the college. These individuals have demonstrated excellence, often performing above and beyond expectations, taking initiative, being creative in problem solving and having a personal and positive impact on their work.
Russ Groves was elected to the UW-Madison Biological Sciences Divisional Committee. The Biological Sciences Divisional Committee recommends promotion or appointment with tenure and selects Hilldale Award recipients and Hilldale Lecture speakers.
Morgan Weissner (Groves Lab) received the 2026 Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship, an award presented by the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association. Morgan is working on identifying potential trans-generational effects of sub-lethal pesticide exposure on the Colorado potato beetle, including novel RNA-interference-based pesticides.
August Easton Calabria (Crall Lab) received the 2026 Senator Robert Caldwell Graduate Fellowship. August works on colony ontogeny and collective behavior in bumble bees and how these aspects of their life histories shape their responses to a rapidly changing environment. He is currently interested in exploring the population-level differences in bumble bee colonies’ responses to stressors such as climate extremes and pesticide exposure.
Fletcher Robbins (Bick Lab) received a 2026 American Scandinavian Foundation Fellowship to conduct a research visit with Dr. Niels Holst at Aarhus University (Dr. Emily Bick received the same fellowship in 2017 for her work with Dr. Holst). Fletcher will be spending several weeks there collaborating on a modeling and pest monitoring research project, which should be a great opportunity to expand both the applied and international dimensions of his work.
Emilie Parkanzky (M.S. student, Guedot Lab) and Ari Maurer (undergraduate, Schoville and Groves labs) were honored at the 2026 CALS Student Awards Celebration on 04/08/2026 from 4:00-5:30. Emilie received the Graduate Service & Outreach Award, while Ari received the Undergraduate Leadership Award.
Claire Schloemer and Ebony Taylor received the 2026 Kinney Merit Award. This award serves to honor the most meritorious applicants each semester by providing support for both graduate and undergraduate Entomology students to attend professional meetings and workshops, or to travel to research locations.
Nathan Lin and Ari Maurer received Honorable Mentions in the 2026 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Competition. This Fellowship supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing full-time, research-based masters and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM), including education.
At the Entomological Society of America North Central Branch Meeting, held April 19-22 in Des Moines, Iowa:
- PJ Liesch (“WI Bug Guy”, Insect Diagnostic Lab), was awarded the ESA-NCB Educational Project Award for the 2024 Cicadapalooza event and the Periodical Cicadas in Wisconsin website that accompanied it.
- Ari Maurer (Schoville and Groves labs) awarded 2nd place in the undergraduate 10-minute talk competition, titled “Investigating phenotypic and genomic cross-resistance in the Colorado potato beetle.”
- Karen Fuenzalida (Paskewitz and Bartholomay labs) awarded 2nd place in the poster competition.
- Zoe Narvaez (Paskewitz lab) awarded 2nd place in the photography competition.
Sohan Alleshwaram is receiving a 2026 Sophomore Research Fellowship. Funded by grants from the Brittingham Wisconsin Trust, the Kemper K. Knapp Bequest, and the Provost’s Office, the Sophomore Research Fellowship provides research training and support to undergraduates.
Samantha Surges is receiving a 2026 Hilldale Undergraduate Research Fellowship. The Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowship provides research training and support to undergraduates.
And finally, we recognize the following undergraduates for earning an Entomology B.S. this semester: Charlotte Butz, Julia Cohen, Elizabeth Ehlert, Zephyr Henry, Garrett Laube, Anthony Luzzio, Ari Maurer, and Ted Wong.
Congrats to all!