Rice University evolutionary biologist Scott Egan has been elected a fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, one the world’s oldest scientific associations.
Egan, an associate professor in the Department of Biosciences and director of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences’ E4 Initiative, was honored by the 191-year-old society for “proven significant contributions to the field of entomology.”
Egan’s lab has discovered and described more than 15 new insect species in the Texas region since 2013, including the gall wasp Neuroterus valhalla, so-named because it was discovered near the Rice graduate student pub Valhalla. The society has twice reprinted Egan and colleagues’ popular 2022 study about the discovery of N. valhalla, which was originally published in the society’s flagship journal, Systematic Entomology.
Based in the United Kingdom, the Royal Entomological Society is an international organization whose former members include famed British naturalist Charles Darwin. It is devoted to insect science and public education about the wonder and value of insects.
As the director of the E4 Initiative, Egan is promoting and facilitating interdisciplinary research to generate knowledge and solutions related to today’s complex environmental challenges.