Nov. 2: Wheeler Lectures focus on bumble bee declines and ‘leggy pests’
The Department is hosting Sujaya Rao of the University of Minnesota as the George C. and Jeanette Wheeler Distinguished Biology Lecture Series on Friday, Nov. 2.
Rao will present two seminars:
“Contrary Perspective to Bumble Bee Declines in Agricultural Landscapes: The Oregon Experience” at noon in 141 Starcher Hall.
and
“Western Hemisphere Evolution in Insect Explorations-From Leggy-Pests to Elegant Recipes!” at 3:30 p.m. in Education, Room 7. There will be a reception beginning at 3 p.m. in the Education Building’s lobby prior to the 3:30 lecture. Everyone is welcome.
Dr. Rao, a University of Minnesota Ph.D. alumna and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Delaware and the University of California, Berkeley, worked as an Extension Advisor for UC’s Cooperative Extension before she moved as Assistant Professor to Oregon State University. In Oregon, Dr. Rao’s research was focused on bio-based pest management and pollination by native bees in agricultural crops. Her educational programs provided K-12 teaching experiences for graduate students and ‘scientist’ experiences for K-12 students. A year ago, Dr. Rao returned to her alma mater as the Department Head for Entomology. Her current interests include expanding entomology opportunities for undergraduates and enhancing edible insect awareness for all.
History of the Wheeler Lecture
As member of the Biology Department Faculty for 41 years and Department Head for 37 years, George Wheeler shaped the minds of Biology students longer than any other faculty member in the history of the Department. Arriving in the fall of 1926 as Professor of Zoology and Head of the Biology Department, he led a two-member faculty and taught all the zoology courses. His keen interest in ants was a lifetime love, one that he shared with his students. He mentored fifteen Master’s degree students and two with the Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Jeanette Norris Wheeler (’39, ’56, ’62) also dedicated her career to the study of ants. She came to UND in 1935, where she met George Wheeler, her future husband, while she was a graduate student. Her first book, The Ants of North Dakota, was a product of her Ph.D. dissertation with George and received outstanding reviews from the scientific community. Jeanette taught in the Biology Department at UND until 1967.
George Wheeler pioneered the study of the morphology of the larval state of ants, relating structural features to the systematic position with the family. His initial studies were mainly based upon his own collections, but gradually he received specimens from around the world. His work led to modifications in our understanding of the taxonomic relationships of the tribes and subfamilies of ants and stimulated others to study the larval stage. Most of these studies were in 1950-1975 and with the active participation of Jeanette. They summarized their work in a 1976 book titled Ant Larvae: Review and Synthesis. His second interest was in the distribution and habits of ants. These studies spanned his entire period of research activity, beginning with early work in Panama in 1924. These studies resulted in three books co-authored with Jeanette: The Ants of North Dakota (1963), Ants of Deep Canyon (1973), and The Ants of Nevada (1986). George was also interested in the study of amphibians and reptiles and wrote the book, the Amphibians and Reptiles of North Dakota (1966). George published more than 100 articles and reviews in journals.
George Wheeler received his undergraduate training at Rice Institute, where his biology instructors were Julian Huxley and H.J. Muller, both of whom led distinguished careers. He completed a Doctor of Science degree at Harvard University in 1921 under the direction of William Morton Wheeler (not a relative), a distinguished biologist of the first half of the twentieth century. Prior to coming to North Dakota in 1926, he was an Assistant Professor of Zoology at Syracuse University. After George’s retirement from UND in 1967, he and Jeanette moved to Reno, where both held appointments at the Desert Research Institute of the University of Nevada, and Jeanette taught in the Biology Department. In 1976 Jeanette was appointed a research associate in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. After retiring for the second time in the early 1980’s, they settled in Silver Springs, FL. Jeanette Wheeler received a Sioux Award, the UND Alumni Association’s highest honor, in May of 1989.
