NEWSLETTER

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF CHEMICAL ECOLOGY

• From the Editor
• 2001 Annual Meeting Update
• Future meeting sites
• Donations to ISCE
• Message from the Treasurer
• Transition to Web-Based Newsletter
• Special ed., J. Brazil. Chem. Soc.
• Member News
• Candidate for Vice-President
• Reelection of Secretary
• Candidates for Councilor
• Positions available
• Upcoming Meetings of Interest
• Ballots

The ISCE Newsletter is published triannually, in October, February, and June.  It is financed through member contributions.  None of the material contained herein may be reprinted without the proper written acknowledgment of the editor.  Address all correspondence and newsletter submissions to the editor.  Deadline for the next issue is April 30, 2001.

Editor: Jocelyn G. Millar
Department of Entomology
University of California
Riverside CA 92521 USA
Email: jocelyn.millar@ucr.edu

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• The membership renewal application forms are only sent out once a year, usually in the October Newsletter. Not infrequently, the forms are forgotten or misplaced, and consequently every year we lose track of a number of members. However, the membership renewal form is permanently available on the new ISCE website at the address http://www.chemecol.org/ in a variety of formats. If you have forgotten to renew your membership, or if you know colleagues who would like to join (or rejoin) the Society, please access the membership form on the webpage. Also note that there is a membership update form, in case your mailing or email address has changed. Please address all correspondence regarding membership or journal subscriptions paid through the Society to the Treasurer, Dr. Steve Teale, at sateale@mailbox.syr.edu
  
• A wealth of other information about the Society and its activities is available on the website, including links to all the forms and information required to register for the annual meetings, student travel award applications, etc. The website also has general information pertaining to the Society, including a description of the Society's purpose, the Bylaws, the current officers, descriptions of Society awards, and abstracts of the meetings for the past several years. Links will also be inserted, for example, to the website for each year's annual meeting. The webpage is updated frequently, and it should serve as an up-to-date source of information on Society affairs for you. Please make use of it, and the membership list which is linked to it. The webpage address is http://www.chemecol.org/ , and there is also a link to the new website from the old one (http://www.isce.ucr.edu) which is being phased out. Our new webmaster is Allard Cossé; please contact him if you have suggestions for links, improvements, etc. His contact information is listed on the new ISCE website homepage.
• Please return your ballots for the election of our new vice-president and councilors, and the reelection of the secretary to Jocelyn Millar, at Dept. of Entomology, University of California, Riverside CA 92521, USA. If you wish, you may Email your choices to jocelyn.millar@ucr.edu.
• Please send any news items, such as awards won by Society members, announcements of conferences and symposia, listings of positions available, and other items of general interest to the editor by Email or by regular mail at the address above.

If you have not already done so, please pay your 2001 dues. Annual meeting participants who are not paid-up members will be charged membership dues at the time of registration for the meeting.

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Meeting Website: http://www.ag.unr.edu/ISCE2001/

The final plans for the 2001 meeting, organized by Gary Blomquist, at Granlibakken Conference Center in North Lake Tahoe are underway. The conference center is located in the pine forests of the Sierra Nevada mountains, a short distance from the lake. The conference center has numerous recreational facilities, including swimming pool, tennis courts, hot tubs and sauna, hiking trails, etc. For further details about the conference center, maps, etc., please visit the conference center website at http://www.granlibakken.com/index.asp
Five symposia are planned, including:

• Novel Techniques in Semiochemical Research (organizer Jocelyn Millar)
  
• Biosynthesis and Physiological Regulation of Pheromone Production and Emission (organizer Coby Schal)
• Frontiers of Olfactory Reception, Information Processing and Neuroethology in Insects (organizer John Hildebrand)
• Marine Chemical Ecology (organizer Neils Lindquist)
• Fresh Water Chemical Ecology (organizer Peter Sorenson)

In addition, a workshop on applied aspects of pheromones is planned. In addition to the symposia, there will be sessions for submitted oral presentations, and a large poster session. Participants may submit as many posters as they wish.

Participants should arrive on Saturday, July 7, coming in through the nearest large airport in Reno, Nevada. The organizers will arrange buses or vans to shuttle participants from the airport to the meeting site. The meeting will start with an opening reception on the evening of Saturday, July 7. The scientific sessions will start the following morning, and continue through Wednesday afternoon. Tuesday afternoon will be free for a cruise on Lake Tahoe, or other recreational activities. The closing banquet will be on Wednesday evening, with participants departing on Thursday morning. Should you wish to arrive earlier or stay longer to spend more time in the beautiful forests and mountains of the western US, the conference center will be able to provide additional nights accomodation. Please contact the conference center reservation agent if you wish to stay longer. The contact information is on the enclosed forms.

The fees for the meeting are divided into 2 parts. First, there is a registration fee ($110, or $50 for students), which will cover the costs of transportation to and from the meeting site, refreshment breaks, etc. Second, there are the accomodation fees, which are all inclusive, covering the costs of five nights accomodation plus all meals, use of all the recreational facilities, welcome reception, and the final banquet.
The registration form, the abstract submission form, the student travel award form, a program summary and contact names and addresses are enclosed. All of these forms are also available on the conference website at http://www.ag.unr.edu/ISCE2001/ There will be a final meeting update in the May-June Newsletter.


DEADLINE for REGISTRATION, ABSTRACT and STUDENT TRAVEL APPLICATIONS:

• STUDENT TRAVEL APPLICATION: April 1, 2001. (Students will be notified by April 21 as to whether they will be funded).
• REGISTRATION AND ABSTRACTS: May 5, 2001 (You must be registered to have an abstract accepted).
• LATE REGISTRATION: Late Registrations will be accepted on a space available basis until July 7. After May 5, we cannot guarantee that rooms will be available. The late registration fee is $150.

LETTERS OF INVITATION

Letters of Invitation are available from meeting host Gary J. Blomquist (blomquis@unr.edu) if they are required to help attendees obtain funding from their home countries and institutions.

PING PONG PLAYERS

A singles and doubles ping pong tournament will be organized during the ISCE meeting. If you are interested in participating, please notify meeting host Gary Blomquist (blomquis@unr.edu). Bring your paddle.

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Other scheduled meetings will be:

2002, Hamburg, Germany
2003, South Korea
2004, Ottawa, Canada
2005, USA, in the Washington D.C. area
2006, Barcelona

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Professor Wendell Roelofs Wins the 2000 Spencer Award

ISCE Life Member Professor Wendell Roelofs, current Chairman of the Department of Entomology, Cornell University, is the latest winner of the Spencer Award. This award, administered by the American Chemical Society, Kansas City Section, is given every year in recognition of outstanding achievement in food and agricultural chemistry. The Kansas City Section presents this award in the hope that it will provide added stimulus in research, education and industry to further progress in agricultural and food chemistry. The award includes a medal and an honorarium which will be presented during a meeting of the Kansas City Section of the ACS on February 27-28. Professor Roelofs is a past winner of the ISCE Silver Medal, in addition to numerous other honors, awards, and honorary doctorates.

Professor Bernard Philogène Awarded the Entomological Society of Canada Gold Medal

Professor Bernard Philogène, Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, was recently named as the recipient of the Entomological Society of Canada 2000 Gold Medal for his achievements in science, his contributions as a senior administrator of the University of Ottawa and his involvement in international research and education endeavors. Dr. Philogène specializes in the study of chemical ecology, plant-insect relationships, pesticides of plant origin, and insect development. His main scientific contributions have been in the area of insect development and diapause as influenced by light and temperature, and in the field of plant-insect relationships. His research and university activities have taken him to Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. He has also been heavily involved in the development and discussion of university and policy issues at national and international meetings.
mailto:bphilog@science.uottawa.ca

Dr. Jeff Aldrich received a B.S. degree in biochemistry (1971, University of Missouri) and, during summers working in the Entomology Department, discovered the world of "true bugs" (Hemiptera: Heteroptera). After a brief exploration of Oceanography as a student at Oregon State University, he returned to Missouri to pursue his fascination with bugs, receiving an M.Sc. studying the chemistry and action of the defensive secretions of bugs in 1974, with Dr. Thomas Yonke. He then received a Ph.D. in entomology from the University of Georgia on "The Chemical Ecology of Some Coreid and Pentatomid Bugs" in 1977, under the guidance of ISCE Life Member Dr. Murray Blum. During his PhD studies, he also became interested in tropical ecology through participation in an Organization for Tropical Studies field course. His postdoctoral experience included research on the alarm pheromone of Africanized honey bees (1977-78 with Murray Blum; Rockefeller Foundation Grant), and research on the then newly discovered phytochemicals (precocenes) with anti-juvenile hormone activity (1978-1980 with Dr. William Bowers; NSF grant). In 1980, he joined the US Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service Insect Physiology Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland, and was transferred to the Insect Chemical Ecology Laboratory in 1990 (now the Chemicals Affecting Insect Behavior Laboratory) where has been Research Leader since 1999. As Laboratory RL he is increasingly involved in research on invasive species, insect repellents and fruit fly attractants. However, he has continued investigations of the semiochemistry of Heteroptera and their parasitoids, and is actively working to promote the semiochemical manipulation of predacious species for biological control. He has published regularly in the Journal of Chemical Ecology since 1979, and participated in most meetings of the International Society of Chemical Ecology beginning with the inaugural Society meeting in Austin, Texas in 1984.

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Dr. Anne-Geneviève Bagnères, Researcher, CNRS, France

Dr. Anne-Geneviève Bagnères holds the position of researcher at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Marseille, France. She did her early studies in physiology and neurobiology at the University of Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris, where, in 1989, she completed a PhD with Jean-Luc Clément. She received the Chancellerie of the Universities of Paris Prize for her PhD work. After a year of postdoctoral studies in analytical chemistry with David Morgan (University of Keele), she was admitted to the CNRS concourse for her scientific skill at the interface between biology and chemistry. There she received the French HDR diploma in 1996 for work on composition, variation and dynamics of chemical signatures in insects. During asabbatical in 1996-97 she worked on biochemical aspects of insect chemical signals as a visiting scientist in the laboratories of Gary Blomquist (UNR, Reno, USA) and Coby Schal (NCSU, Raleigh, USA). Her current research focuses on the chemical ecology of social insects where she continues to be a leading contributor and proponent of the concept of chemical signatures. While her primary research focuses on chemistry, behavior, and variation analyses of termite chemical ecology, she participates in several collaborative studies involving chemistry of other insects (ants, wasps, bees...), arachnids (scorpions, spiders) and contact pheromones of mammals (marmots, mice...). She has published frequently in the Journal of Chemical Ecology, and has participated in ISCE meetings since 1987. She is also a member of the IUSSI and the Isoptera Society.

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Professor Ben Burger, South Africa.

Professor Dr. Barend (Ben) Burger, Professor and Head of Organic Chemistry at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, is a long-term member of the ISCE. He received his B.Sc. in Chemistry and Mathematics, the M.Sc. in Inorganic Chemistry and the D.Sc. in Organic Chemistry under Prof C.F. Garbers at the same university. As Alexander von Humboldt Fellow he did post-doctoral work with Prof. L. Birkofer at the University of Cologne and spent a sabbatical year with Prof. H. Schildknecht in Heidelberg in 1975.
Prof. Burger started semiochemical research in 1967, working on the sex attractant of the Pine Emperor Moth and later became involved in the identification and synthesis of constituents of the exocrine secretions of South African antelopes and other mammals, and dung beetles. He has also developed methods for analysis of volatiles in gaseous and aqueous samples for use in his semiochemical research and in the analysis of volatile pollutants. A current project focuses on the development of simplified 2-dimensional GC and GC-MS instrumentation for semiochemical analysis. He has hosted 7 postdoctoral associates from Europe and graduated 23 postgraduate students. He has published over 70 papers, four patents, and two books.
Prof. Burger received the Havenga Prize for Chemistry from the South African Academy for Arts and Science in 1989 and the Shimadzu Trophy for Outstanding Contribution in Chromatography in 1991. He was a Tamkan Chair Lecturer at the Tamkan University in Taiwan in 1990 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa. He serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal for High Resolution Chromatography and is a Member of the Board of the International Foundation for Environmental Assistance for Russia.

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Dr. Jenny Mordue (Luntz), Department of Zoology, University of Aberdeen, Scotland

Dr. Jenny Mordue obtained her BSc & MSc degrees at the University of Sheffield doing her MSc with Ken Highnam, a pioneer in insect endocrinology. Her PhD, with Professor Reg Chapman at the University of London, focused on the role of mouthpart and antennal receptors in locusts. Since then she has established an international reputation for her work on semiochemicals in insect chemical ecology. The focus of Dr. Mordue's research is the discovery of semiochemical-based pest control strategies, particularly with azadirachtin and neem products. She also has made substantial progress in resolving the roles of chemical signals in host finding, mate finding and oviposition site location by midges and mosquitoes. Recent work with Professor John Pickett's group at Rothamsted has focussed on identification of novel attractants and repellents for use in push-pull strategies for control of biting flies, with some promising recent results from novel repellents from humans. She also collaborates with the Institute of Animal Health and Dr Phillip Mellor's group on the chemical ecology and molecular biology of Culicoides imicola to understand the immigration of this serious vector into Southern Europe. More recently she has begun work with aquatic organisms and is principal scientist in a group involved in pioneering work on the chemical ecology of Lepiophtheirus salmonis, an ectoparasitic copepod that is devastating the aquaculture of Atlantic Salmon.
Dr Mordue is the Honorary Secretary for Scotland of the Royal Entomological Society, Chairman, Aberdeen Section and Vice-Chairman Scotland Section of the Society for Chemical Industry and a member of their Crop Protection Group. She interacts widely with scientists from many different disciplines covering physiological, endocrinological, behavioural and chemical ecological approaches in different animal groups. She has been a frequent participant in ISCE annual meetings.

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Dr. Irena Valterova, Senior Scientist, Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic

Dr. Irena Valterova is a senior scientist at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Prague. She graduated in organic chemistry at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Charles University in Prague. She obtained her PhD from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences with Dr. Jan Vrkoc, working on the isolation and structure elucidation of defence substances of termite soldiers
She then spent 2 years (1990-1992) at a postdoctoral fellow at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, working with Prof. T. Norin on the resolution of monoterpene enantiomers by 2-dimensional gas chromatography. She applied this technique in the determination of enantiomeric purity of monoterpene hydrocarbons isolated from insects (alarm pheromones of termites) and plants (pine oleoresins, flowers and young seedlings of the family Apiaceae).
Her current research includes chemical communication in bumblebees and cuckoo-bumblebees. She studies scent-marking during the premating behavior of males and the ways that these marking pheromone components are formed in the labial glands. She also works on the communication between castes within bumblebee colonies.
Dr. Valterova is an active member of the Czech Chemical Society, where she works on the Board of the Working Group of Organic, Bioorganic, and Pharmaceutical Chemistry. Last year, she was nominated as a member of the Board for the Alfred Bader Prize, awarded to outstanding young Czech scientists in bioorganic and bioinorganic chemistry. Within the framework of her work with talented young people, she also served as a juror of the YEER international competition (Young Europeans Environmental Research) during 1996-1997. She has been an ISCE member since 1993.

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• Postdoctoral position, Applied Insect Ecology
  Available spring 2001, for studies of the applied chemical ecology of insect pests. Project will involve molecular signaling pathways that orchestrate the expression of phytochemical defenses using flow through volatile delivery/olfactometer systems and chromatography techniques. Research experience in insect chemical ecology desired. Skill in GC, GC-MS, and HPLC required. Salary commensurate with experience. Excellent medical and dental benefits. Applications should include full c.v., names, addresses, phone numbers, and emails of 3 references, representative reprints, and a letter detailing applicant's research interests and suitability for the position. Contact: Dr. Mark E. Whalon, Center for Integrated Plant Systems, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1311; phone: 517/353-9425; email: whalon@msu.edu. Position open until April 1, 2001 or until filled.
  
  
• Postdoctoral Position: Molecular Basis of Insect Olfaction
  Postdoc. available on an interdisciplinary project to study the molecular basis of the early olfactory processing in insects. A Ph.D. in a relevant discipline such as biochemistry, bio-organic chemistry or cell biology is expected. Knowledge of basic techniques in molecular biology is essential. Salary: $30,888 per year plus benefits, for 1 or 2 years, contingent upon continued funding. Send resume and list of references to Walter S. Leal, University of California, Department of Entomology, Honorary Sean Duffey Lab, 308 Briggs Hall, Davis, CA 95616; email wsleal@ucdavis.edu. The University of California is an Affirmative Action/Equal opportunity employer.
  
  
• Postdoctoral position: Entomology/Biology
  Postdoc position to study semiochemicals influencing mosquito oviposition behavior. Candidates should have PhD degree in chemical ecology, organic or analytical chemistry, or a related field. Responsibilities include collection and identification of semiochemicals, setup and operation of a coupled gas chromatograph-electroantennogram detector (GC-EAD), development of experimental protocols, data analysis and interpretation, and preparation of materials for publication or presentation. Experience with GC-EAG highly desirable. Position available July 1, 2001, for 2 years, with possibility of renewal. Send applications with resume and description of research interests, and names, addresses, phone and FAX numbers, and Email addresses of three references to Dr. Alvaro E. Eiras, Departamento de Parasitologia - ICB/UFMG, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Presidente Antonio Carlos, 6627, Pampulha - CxP. 486, Belo Horizonte, MG, CEP 31270-901, BRASIL. Email: alvaro@icb.ufmg.br, Phone: +55 31 3499 2976, FAX: +55 31 3499 2970 or 3499 2829. Website http://www.icb.ufmg.br
  

• 4th International Congress on Chemistry & 13th Caribbean Conference on Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Havana Cuba, April 16-20, 2001. Invited speakers and sessions on Ag. and Food, analytical, organic, physical, industrial, environmental chemistry, chemistry in medicine, natural products chemistry. Information: Dr. Maria A. Chavez Planas, mchavez@infomed.sld.cu.
• 1st EUROPEAN ALLELOPATHY SYMPOSIUM, June 21-23, 2001, Vigo, Spain. Main Topic, Physiological Aspects of Allelopathy, sessions on Basic physiological aspects, Secondary metabolism and stress, Modes of action of allelochemicals, Applied Aspects of Allelopathy. Early registration and abstract submission by Feb. 1/01. Registration information, feas@uvigo.es; web page http://www.uvigo.es/feas.
• 2nd Asia-Pacific Conference on Chemical Ecology, Penang, Malaysia, August 7-11, 2001. Abstracts deadline April 30, 2001. Contact and registration information: apcce@maxis.net.my, http://apcce2001.domainvalet.com; The Secretariat, APCCE, School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Minden, Penang, Malaysia. FAX: 1-604-656-5125.
• 4th Asia-Pacific Conference on Entomology, August 14-17, 2001, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Website: http://www.mapps.org.my/mapps/APCE.html
• 3rd IUPAC International Conference on Biodiversity, Nov. 3-8, Antalya, Turkey. Main topics: Chemical basis of diversity; Biomolecular aspects of biodiversity; Innovative utilization. Further information and contact: Prof. Dr. Bilge SENER, P.O. Box 143 06572 Maltepe-Ankara, Turkey. Fax +90-312-213 39 21. Email blgsener@tr-net.net.tr. Web http://www.agne.com.tr

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BALLOT

VICE-PRESIDENT, ISCE, 2001

______ Dr. Jean-Luc Clément
______ Other

SECRETARY, ISCE, 2001

______ Dr. Jocelyn Millar
______ Other

Jocelyn G. Millar, Editor
Department of Entomology
University of California
Riverside CA 92521, USA
Email: jocelyn.millar@ucr.edu

Visit the ISCE Webpage at http://chemecol.org/

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