Prestigious J.O. Westwood Medal 2022 Awarded to Clarke & McKenna

Selection for faculty’s research was unanimous

Department of Biological Sciences faculty, Dr. Dave Clarke (lecturer), and Dr. Duane McKenna (professor) were recently notified their research The Weevil Fauna Preserved in Burmese Amber: Snapshot of a uniguw, extinct lineage (Coleoptera: Coculionoidea) has been awarded the Royal Entomological Society’s J.O. Westwood Medal 2022 for excellence in taxonomy. Award criteria includes the best comprehensive taxonomic work on a group of insects, or, related arthropods (including terrestrial and freshwater hexapods, myriapods, arachnids and their relatives) and typically, this will be a taxonomic revision or monograph. Award is open to authors from any country who demonstrate the highest standards of descriptive taxonomy in the work nominated. To be eligible for this annual award, an individual or group’s work must meet the criteria and is/are living at the time the work is submitted for consideration.

The panel of RES Fellows expressed the publication was well aligned with the works of J.O. Westwood, making substantial contributions to the knowledge of biodiversity. The decision was unanimous to award the medal for the comprehensiveness and breadth of the taxonomic coverage of their publication. The prize of £1000 will be shared and both researchers will receive a silver gilt medal. Also awarded are travel and accommodation expenses to attend and present at one of the international scientific conferences – the International Congress of Entomology, European Congress of Entomology, or other major meeting to present their work.

For more information on this award or their research, contact Clarke at djclarke@memphis.edu, or McKenna at dmckenna@memphis.edu.