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May R Berenbaum

Head and Professor, Entomology

Research Interests

Interactions between insects and plants, including herbivores and pollinators, and their implications in the organization of natural communities and agroecosystems

Research Description

May Berenbaum, Ph.D. has been on the faculty of the Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign since 1980, serving as head since 1992 and as Swanlund Chair of Entomology since 1996. Her work is focused on characterizing biochemical , genetic, and molecular mechanisms underlying interactions between insects and the plants they consume, including detoxification of natural and synthetic chemicals, and for applying ecological principles in developing sustainable management practices for natural and agricultural communities. Her research, supported primarily by NSF and USDA, has produced over 300 refereed scientific publications and 40 book chapters. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, she has chaired two National Research Council committees, the Committee on the Future of Pesticides in U.S. Agriculture (2000) and the Committee on the Status of Pollinators in North America (2007). Devoted to teaching and fostering scientific literacy through formal and informal education, she has authored numerous magazine articles and six books about insects for the general public; on the UIUC campus, she founded outreach efforts including the Insect Fear Film Festival, the citizen-science web portal Beespotter, and the UIUC Pollinatarium. She graduated summa cum laude, with a B.S. degree and honors in biology, from Yale University in 1975 and received a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Cornell University in 1980.

Education

PhD, 1980, Cornell University

Additional Campus Affiliations

Head, Entomology
Maybelle Leland Swanlund Endowed Chair, Entomology
Professor, Entomology
Director, Center for Advanced Study
CAS Professor, Center for Advanced Study
Campus Honors Faculty, Office of the Provost
Professor, Plant Biology
Professor, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
Professor, Prairie Research Institute
Professor, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology

Recent Publications

Berenbaum, M. R. (2023). Box Steps. American Entomologist, 69(2), 14-17. https://doi.org/10.1093/ae/tmad034

Berenbaum, M. R. (2023). “Debugging” insect-related conspiracy theories. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Article saad018. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/saad018

Berenbaum, M. R. (2023). Editorial Expression of Concern. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120(43), Article e2316399120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2316399120

Berenbaum, M. R. (2023). On peer review-then, now, and soon to be? Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120(11), Article e2302593120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2302593120

Berenbaum, M. R. (2023). Pesky Problems in the Sky. American Entomologist, 69(3), 12-14. https://doi.org/10.1093/ae/tmad051

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