It is with great sadness that we report the death of Teaching Professor Emeritus Thomas J. Carlson, who passed away on 9 April 2025. Tom was a highly respected scientist and teacher who was beloved for his creative intellect, his kindness, and his humanity. Professionally, Tom’s career centered on two themes – botany and medicine. He held a Masters’ Degree in botany from the University of Michigan and was a Curator Emeritus in Berkeley’s University and Jepson Herbaria.

Congratulations to José Pablo Vázquez-Medina for being co-awarded the 2025 David Blackwell Award. The Blackwell Award is given annually to a recently tenured professor in the College of Letters & Science who embodies the values and aspirations of the College in scholarship, teaching and mentorship, and service, and who serves as an inspiration to others in the campus community.

Professor of Integrative Biology, Robert Full and colleagues, published two complementary papers today revealing how squirrel agility inspired a robot to make a stable branch to branch landing.

Read more about squirrel and robot agility via this UC Berkeley News link here

Congratulations to Assistant Teaching Professor Michal Shuldman, who has been named a recipient of the 2025 Faculty Award for Outstanding Mentorship of GSIs!

Professor of Integrative Biology, Noah Whiteman, was awarded the 2025 Genetics Society of America Medal. This award acknowledges Whiteman's outstanding contributions to the field of genetics. Read more about the Genetics Society of America Award recipients and Whiteman's research here. 

Postdoctoral fellow César Nufio and his colleagues (IB Professor Caroline Williams, Dr. Lauren Buckley, and Dr. Monica Sheffer) have shared a new study of Colorado grasshoppers that shows grasshoppers that overwinter as juveniles have a head start on those that emerge in the spring. Read more via this UC Berkeley News link here: https://news.berkeley.edu/2025/01/31/life-cycles-of-some-insects-adapt-well-to-a-changing-climate-others-not-so-much/.
 

It is with sadness that we report the passing of Professor Emerita Thelma E. Rowell during December 2024. Dr. Rowell joined the Berkeley faculty in 1974 as a member of the Department of Zoology and, later, the Department of Integrative Biology.