UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Six members of the Department of Entomology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have received awards for excellence in research, teaching and extension from the Eastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America.

“These awards indicate that our department is blessed with brilliant scientists and effective science communicators, as well as excellent teachers,” said Kelli Hoover, professor of entomology and an ESA fellow. “The fact that every faculty member, postdoctoral scholar and graduate student we put forward won the award they were nominated for also speaks to the breadth of achievement in the department.”

Tanya Renner, assistant professor of entomology, received the Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching. Renner has taught eight undergraduate courses and four graduate courses at the University of California, Berkeley, San Diego State University, Pima Community College and Penn State, covering topics ranging from entomology to plant biology and evolution. Since joining Penn State in 2015, Renner has developed a program focused on active interdisciplinary learning and mentoring.

Renner was recognized for fostering an inclusive learning environment and striving to develop students into independent learners and teachers through innovative approaches and interactive exercises. She is described as an outstanding mentor to young scientists and consistently receives high marks in the “Student Rating of Teaching Effectiveness” for the quality of her courses and her quality as an instructor.

ESA awarded the Distinguished Achievement Award in Extension to Margarita López-Uribe, associate professor of entomology and Lorenzo L. Langstroth Early Career Professor.

López-Uribe has built a robust extension program focused on delivering critical information about pollinators to farmers, Penn State Extension Master Gardeners, beekeepers and the public. In the last six years, she has received $3.4 million in grants from various competitive sources to fund extension activities. She also is a key player in building the Latinx Agricultural Network in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

For two years, López-Uribe was the sole faculty member in charge of the Penn State Insect Fair, which attracts more than 4,000 people annually. She is involved in training extension educators to deliver accurate and timely information about the management and conservation of critical pollinators.

Mary Barbercheck, professor of entomology, was the recipient of the L.O. Howard Distinguished Achievement Award. The award was created in 1974 to recognize scientists who have made significant contributions to the field of entomology.

Over the last 30 years, Barbercheck has made great strides in generating knowledge about organic farming. She plays a leadership role on a multidisciplinary research team investigating organic cropping systems. Her research contributed to understanding how ecosystem services are enhanced and economic savings can occur using organic management.

Barbercheck is widely published and has given more than 75 invited seminar and symposia presentations. She also has mentored and served as a role model for young people, especially women and people of color, by stimulating their passion for science, agriculture and service to others.

Karen Poh, former postdoctoral scholar, received the Excellence in Early Career Award. The award honors a student transition or early professional who has demonstrated excellence in research, extension, teaching and outreach.

Now a research entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, Poh is described as having the innate qualities necessary for scientists: enthusiasm, the ability to problem-solve and work hard, and considerable curiosity. In the lab, she has focused on topics such as the ecology of potential disease vectors and the chemical ecology of ticks.

During her time at Penn State, Poh led a multistate, citizen-science project involving hunters in vector specimen collection to better understand the distribution of potential disease vectors. She also received the 2020 Outstanding Postdoc Award from Penn State’s Postdoc Society.

The society presented a John Henry Comstock Graduate Student Award to Hannah Tiffin, former doctoral student and member of Penn State Extension’s vector-borne disease team. This award goes to an outstanding graduate student, usually doctoral level, from each branch of the ESA.

Now a postdoctoral research associate with USDA-ARS, Tiffin demonstrated high achievement in her studies and has published eight manuscripts in addition to her doctoral research. She received funding as an undergraduate and a funded competitive grant from the National Center for Veterinary Parasitology for her work on mange in black bears. She developed her project from its inception to include an assessment of bears, which ultimately changed how the Pennsylvania Game Commission treats bears with mange symptoms.

Graduate student Logan Stenger received the Asa Fitch Memorial Award. It is given annually to recognize an outstanding master’s-level student. Stenger is passionate about the outdoors and conservation, especially of streams and the animals that live there. Before his time at Penn State and during his studies, Stenger worked as a watershed specialist at the Huntingdon County Water District, where he inventoried aquatic arthropods and used them to measure the water quality of streams.

Stenger’s research has focused on water mites. He aims to determine if water mite diversity and abundance across stream quality can be used as water quality bioindicators. He expects to graduate in May.