The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Entomology earned major recognition at the 2025 North Central Branch Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, held April 12–16 in Lincoln.
More than 320 scientists, educators and students from across the region attended the annual event, which featured scientific presentations, student competitions and awards recognizing excellence in the field of entomology.
UNL faculty and staff received several of the event’s top awards. Louise Lynch-O’Brien, associate professor of entomology, received the Award for Excellence in Teaching. Jody Green, Extension educator, was honored with the Award for Excellence in Extension for her outstanding outreach work. Erin Bauer, entomology lecturer, and Josh Villazana, pesticide safety and education program coordinator, earned the Educational Project Award for their innovative teaching efforts.
Students from the department also made a strong showing, earning nine of the 24 available awards in the meeting’s 12 student presentation competitions—more than any other university represented. A total of 102 students from 23 institutions participated.
UNL student award winners include:
- Paige Myers – 1st Place, Undergraduate Posters I
- Kayo Herberth de Brito Reis – 1st Place, Ph.D. Posters
- Kristin Stark – 2nd Place, Ph.D. Posters
- Kashish Verma – 1st Place, Master’s Papers I
- Haley Fleetwood – 1st Place, Master’s Papers II
- Andrea Rilaković – 1st Place, Ph.D. Papers I
- Nikhitha Gangavarapu – 2nd Place, Ph.D. Papers I
- Natasha Umezu – 1st Place, Ph.D. Papers II
- Gwenyth Coleman – 1st Place, Ph.D. Papers III
The showing continues a trend of excellence for UNL’s Department of Entomology. At the national ESA meeting in 2024, the department’s students won more presentation awards than any other university, competing against hundreds of peers from across the country.
