Distinguished status awarded for extraordinary service to ESA
Annapolis, MD; August 28, 2025—In recognition of their long-term dedication and significant contributions to the Entomological Society of America (ESA), three entomologists have been selected as Honorary Members of the Society in 2025.
Honorary Membership acknowledges those who have served ESA for at least 20 years through significant involvement in the affairs of the Society that has reached an extraordinary level. Candidates for this honor are selected by the ESA Governing Board and then voted on by the ESA membership.
This year's honorees will be recognized during Entomology 2025, November 9-12, in Portland, Oregon.
ESA's 2025 Honorary Members are:
- Michael Brewer, Ph.D., Texas A&M University
- Jerome Grant, Ph.D., University of Tennessee
- Sujaya Rao, Ph.D., University of Minnesota
Michael Brewer
Texas A&M University
Dr. Michael Brewer has been a member of the Entomological Society of America (ESA) since 1983. He is currently professor with Texas A&M AgriLife Research in Corpus Christi, where he is responsible for field crops entomology research, outreach, and graduate education. He is also Regents Fellow, a Texas A&M System-wide title bestowed in 2022. His academic home is the Department of Entomology in College Station. He addresses pest management issues relevant to fiber and grain crops, with emphasis on regional pest risk assessment and pest suppression support including conservation of natural enemies within large-scale agroecosystems. He has published 139 journal articles (86 in ESA journals) and 11 book chapters and has led one edited book and three Annual Review of Entomology articles.
Brewer has contributed to the publication portfolio of the ESA over a 26-year period. He has contributed as a Journal of Economic Entomology (JEE) subject editor for 18 years, as Editorial Board member of two journals, and as JEE co-editor-in-chief (co-EIC) over the last six years (appointed in 2019). Most recently he has provided support and leadership as part of a JEE team of three co-EICs, over 50 subject editors, and dedicated ESA publications staff to oversee the review process, nurture initiatives, and carry out policies of the ESA Publication Council. Journal initiatives that Brewer championed working with the JEE management team include 1) submission stage quality control (a re-vitalized initial screening of manuscripts), 2) strengthening guidance to authors (release of a best practices guide and refreshing JEE section descriptions), and 3) special collections (regularly published in JEE since 2021). Throughout his service as co-EIC, board member, and subject editor, he has promoted cross-journal coordination to support complementary thrusts and manuscript transfers and heighten editor representation across career stage, gender, and international categories. Brewer's service alongside the JEE and ESA publication team has resulted in ESA maintaining its status as a primary source of literature in insect pest management worldwide, with JEE as a Q1 journal, its impact factor in the 2.0-2.5 range, and record submission numbers approaching 1,000 annually. These successes have occurred in an expanding landscape of entomology journals.
Beyond his publication service and leadership, Brewer is a long active supporter of annual ESA Branch and Annual Meetings, contributing as symposium organizer, speaker, moderator, sponsor of his graduate student activities, and member of the Awards Committee and Editorial Board. He has provided leadership to other organizations, including as president of the University of Wyoming chapter of Sigma Xi and president-elect of the Society of Southwestern Entomologists. He has served as chair of array of research, extension, and academic committees, including several USDA NIFA multi-state and IPM committees.
He has received several ESA awards in integrated pest management (IPM) in recognition of his individual (2019 SW Branch Excellence in IPM) and team (2018 P-IE Section IPM Team Award) achievements. He also received recognition in university service (TAMU: Superior Service; elected member of Research PI and Promotion Committees, Regent Fellow; U. Wyoming: Early Career) and federal service (EPA Team Outstanding Achievement, USDA Regional Team Projects of Excellence).
Jerome Grant
University of Tennessee
Jerome Grant received his B.A. in biology (1977) from Berea College in Kentucky, M.S. in entomology (1980) from the University of Kentucky, and Ph.D. in entomology (1983) from Clemson University. After graduation, he joined the Department of Entomology at Clemson University as a visiting assistant professor for two years before joining the faculty in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at the University of Tennessee (UT) in 1985. Since arriving at UT, he has served as leader of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM)/Biological Control Research Laboratory for 39 years and has been the state survey coordinator for four years. His research on invasive insects and weeds and their biological/ecological interactions with other species has provided critical information to improve management programs against invasive species in numerous systems, such as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He has directed 54 graduate students, mentored more than 100 undergraduate students, developed over 200 publications, and averaged about $300,000 in grant funding annually. With a 25% teaching and 75% research appointment, Jerome teaches/co-teaches seven undergraduate and graduate courses, emphasizing general entomology and IPM in a two-year cycle, and he has taught 14 different courses during his career. He actively engages in community outreach activities, encouraging participation by undergraduate and graduate students. He has developed annual educational outreach events to showcase entomology, including the Buggy Buffet, Cricket Spittin' Contest, Butterfly House (Butterfly Festival), Bug Camp, Insect Zoo, Bugs on Campus Photo Contest, Insects in Our Lives Traveling Exhibit, and others that reach more than 5,000 people annually. He has received numerous research and teaching awards, including ESA's Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching in 2004 and UT's Excellence in Teaching Award in 2025.
Jerome has been an active ESA and Southeastern Branch (SEB) member for 45 years. Two early accomplishments were serving as a member of Clemson University's championship team in SEB's first Entomology Games and receiving SEB's John Henry Comstock Award (both 1983). He served on his first Branch committee in 1985 and first served at the national level in 1989, when he chaired an awards committee representing ESA at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. He became hooked on serving ESA and has been active ever since. He served as co-program chair for one ESA Annual Meeting, program chair for one SEB Branch Meeting, co-chair of the Local Arrangements Committee for one Annual Meeting (1996), and chair of the Local Arrangements Committee for three Branch Meetings. While serving as co-chair of ESA's Student Competition Committee, he guided the first wide-scale trial using digital scoring of presentations by judges, which was implemented the following year. As chair of the Committee on Awards and Honors, he worked with the ESA president and staff to streamline awards presentations while still respectfully honoring recipients. As co-chair of the Program Committee (2011-2012), he spearheaded efforts to offer activities and tours for attendees to enhance their experience (Body Farm Tours, football game tickets, themed t-shirt). He served as SEB's Member-at-Large, where he interacted at the national level on behalf of Branch membership. He has authored or co-authored more than 300 presentations at ESA and SEB Meetings. Fifty three of his graduate students have joined ESA as student members, presenting at least one paper at ESA Annual or Branch Meetings. His students have received about 40 student paper awards at ESA Annual or Branch Meetings (including approximately eight President's Prize awards); one student received SEB's John Henry Comstock Award.
Jerome served as gamesmaster and moderator for SEB's Entomology Games for 11 years, improving the game experience for participants and attendees to enhance interest and participation. He encouraged diversity and inclusion by inviting non-traditional colleges and universities to participate. He led the Branch's first effort at a virtual competition during COVID-19 to ensure students had the opportunity to compete. He served as chair of SEB's Entomology Games Committee and member of ESA's Entomology Games Committee.
Jerome has been active in the Tennessee Entomological Society, serving as president and chair of almost every committee during his career. He served as associate editor of the Journal of Agricultural Entomology and Kasetsart University's Journal of Natural Science, as well as two terms on UT's Faculty Senate and as president of Southeastern Biological Control Working Group.
Throughout his career, Jerome has encouraged students to join and become involved in ESA. As a first-generation college student from an underrepresented background, he understands students' difficulties when undertaking new adventures. He enjoys sharing his experiences so that students can gain perspectives and make better decisions as students, members of professional societies, employees, and beyond. Like Flik in "A Bug's Life," he encourages students to Dream Big!
Sujaya Rao
University of Minnesota
A native of India, Dr. Sujaya Rao received B.S. (Honors) and M.S. degrees in zoology from the University of Delhi, a Ph.D. degree in entomology from the University of Minnesota (UMN), and postdoctoral training at the University of Delaware (UD) and the University of California (UC), Berkeley. She was hired as an extension advisor for UC Cooperative Extension and later joined the faculty at Oregon State University (OSU). She served as the undergraduate research director at OSU for two years before returning to her Ph.D. alma mater as the department head.
Sujaya's research interests span pests and pollinators. At UMN and UD she studied semiochemically mediated interactions in corn impacting pests and parasitoids, while at UC Berkeley she assessed biological control of strawberry pests. As a field crop entomologist in Oregon, Sujaya studied diverse pests including the European crane fly (molecular marker developed for larval identification), seed thrips (host range), cereal leaf beetle (CLB) (pheromone trapping), and clover root borer (entomopathogen impacts). A serendipitous observation in the CLB study led to her discovering a new bee monitoring tool, the blue vane trap. Thereafter, her research expanded to native bees. Noteworthy accomplishments with collaborators include new insights gained on bee vision from a study on sunlight-induced fluorescence from the blue vanes and studies with a microsatellite marker, a wireless mini sensor, and number tags that documented remarkable (over 15 kilometer) long-range bumble bee flight behavior. Sujaya's efforts in enhancing the profile of entomology through education are also remarkable. Besides teaching integrated pest management (IPM) at OSU and UMN and as a Fulbright Scholar in Ecuador, she taught courses like "Got Bees? Declines and Conservation of Honey bees and Native bees" and "Insect Warriors" to draw students to entomology. Her $1.3 million NSF GK12 Program provided graduate students with a unique opportunity of delivering inquiry-based lessons in K-12 schools (student comment: "the best growing and learning experience" at OSU) while NSF REU participants gained pollination research experience across native and agricultural landscapes. In her innovative "Partners in Nature" program, Sujaya provided K-12 students with an entomologist's experience to inspire them to pursue entomology careers. They conducted pollination research and presented their results at a 'conference'. Student comments: "It changed how I viewed scientists"; "I wish to work as a bee scientist." As department head, Sujaya spearheaded the transformation of undergraduate entomology education at UMN, which led to a dramatic six-fold increase in enrollment (over 60 students) in the insect science minor. Her OSU K-12 outreach programs include "Family Bug Nights," "Discovery Days," and "Discovering the Scientist Within" (for inspiring students to pursue science careers). At UMN, Sujaya co-organized the new "Great Minnsect Show" for enhancing public awareness about insects.
As an ESA member for 39 years, Sujaya has participated nationally, in three branches (Eastern, North Central, Pacific) and two sections (FIT, P-IE). She has had the rare privilege to serve as president of a Branch (Pacific) and Section (P-IE) and as a Governing Board member. Currently, she serves on the Leadership Development Committee. Sujaya has been a role model, especially for BIPOC members.
Sujaya was so enthralled with her first ESA meeting as a graduate student that she attended almost every meeting since then and availed of amazing ESA opportunities. As a student, she participated in student competitions and the Entomology Games and served on the Student Affairs Committee. As a postdoc she organized research symposia, served on the Eastern Branch Awards Committee, and organized maggot races for the Insect Expo. As a faculty member she organized symposia related to research, teaching, and topics related to student training for keeping pace with emerging careers. She was invited to make leadership presentations at symposia organized by students, early career professionals, and Indian and Hispanic associations. Additional remarkable contributions include her introducing, as Pacific Branch president, a student texting competition, new awards for each Section to ensure that every member was eligible for a Branch award, and new symposia on topics such as social media in teaching. As P-IE president, for the networking section's symposium "Effective communication: How to avoid pie in your face," she invited a novel presenter—a local newspaper reporter. Sujaya's ESA activities include reaching out to members to take on leadership roles and nominating regular and student members for diverse ESA awards.
Sujaya's accomplishments have earned her the John Henry Comstock Award, Henry-Sylvia Richardson Research Grant, Distinguished Award for Teaching, and ESA Fellow honors.
Sujaya will retire this summer but plans to continue engagement in ESA activities, particularly in helping students prepare for the diversity of careers in today's world.
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CONTACT: Joe Rominiecki, jrominiecki@entsoc.org, 301-731-4535 x3009
ABOUT: ESA is the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and people in related disciplines. Founded in 1889, ESA today has nearly 7,000 members affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, the Society stands ready as a non-partisan scientific and educational resource for all insect-related topics. For more information, visit www.entsoc.org.