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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 29, 2004 Cornell
University Graduate Students Receive Awards at the Experiment
Station in Geneva
GENEVA, NY: GENEVA, NY: Three Cornell University graduate students recently received awards from the entomology and plant pathology departments at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY. In entomology, Shannon Olsson, a fourth-year Ph.D student, received the Michael Villani award, and Mark Sarvary, a fourth-year Ph.D. student, received the Paul J. Chapman award. In plant pathology, Megan Kennelly, a Ph.D. student, was the first recipient of the Robert M. Gilmer award. The Villani Award is a stipend given annually to a graduate student in the entomology department and was established by entomologist Michael Villani before his untimely death in 2001. Villani set up the award to help graduate students with their research and stipulated a unique selection process: the recipient was to be chosen by the technical staff rather than the faculty. Olsson's dissertation research project with entomologists Wendell Roelofs and Tom Eisner analyzes the effect of peripheral chemoreception on detection of host volatiles and speciation in Rhagoletis flies. Two races of Rhagoletis may be forming new species through hybridization -a common occurrence in plants but nearly unknown to animals. The Chapman Fellowship is awarded annually to a graduate student in entomology by the full professors in the department. Selection is based on: 1) scientific quality of research work; 2) publications and presentations; and 3) involvement in professional activities. Candidates are judged on the merits of their achievements while conducting graduate studies. The student is provided a full year of tuition and fees. The Fellowship was established by Paul Chapman, in 1992. Chapman was hired as a full professor of entomology in 1929 and served as head of the department at Geneva from 1948-1965. He established the fellowship to ensure that the department would continue to inspire young entomologists to follow the principles and insights he believed important in his colleagues. Mark Sarvary, the recipient of the 2003-04 Chapman Fellowship, focuses on the population dynamics and biological control of the obilquebanded leafroller, a serious pest of apples. The Robert M. Gilmer award is funded by an endowment bequeathed to the plant pathology department at Geneva by Gilmer, a faculty member in the department from 1950-1975. Gilmer, who was internationally known for his research on virus diseases of deciduous tree fruits and grapes, is fondly remembered for his intelligence, his breadth of knowledge of plant diseases, and for being a free thinker who challenged conventional views. The Gilmer award supports presentation of the recipient's work at a scientific meeting or supports their research at a collaborating institution. Kennelly performs field research on grapevine downy mildew, working
in both the northern and southern hemispheres to collect data.
She will present three papers at the annual meeting of the American
Phytopathological Society (APS) in August.
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New York State Agricultural
Experiment Station, 630 West North Street, Geneva, New York 14456
Telephone: 315.787.2011
Last Modified:
July 30, 2004
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