UC Davis entomology alumnus Gary Lamberti, professor of aquatic science in the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame,  and director of the university's Stream and Wetland Ecology Laboratory, is the recipient of a 2022 Society for Freshwater Science (SFS) Career Award for "significantly advancing the scientific understanding of freshwater science" over his 40-year career.

"Lamberti has significantly advanced scientific understanding in many areas of freshwater science, including the role of species interactions in shaping food web structure and function in streams and wetlands, the ecology and ecosystem effects of Pacific salmon in their native and introduced ranges, and the impacts of land-use change, emerging contaminants and invasive species on aquatic ecosystem structure and function," SFS announced.

Lamberti, the Rev. Julius A. Nieuwland Professor of Aquatic Science, has co-edited Methods in Stream Ecology, authored more than 200 publications, and mentored 30 graduate students "and countless undergraduates in his laboratory."

Lamberti, a Fellow of SFS, served as SFS president in 1997. He received his bachelor's degree in entomology, with high honors, in 1975 from UC Davis, and his doctorate in entomological sciences in 1983 from UC Berkeley, where he wrote his dissertation on "Interactions among Herbivorous Insects, Algae, and Bacteria in a Geothermally Influenced Stream."

"I have wonderful memories of UC Davis, which really started me off on my path to entomology and then aquatic science, but always with a fondness for insects," Lamberti related in an email today. "All of my entomology professors were great, but individuals that I distinctly remember include Warren Cothran for insect ecology (which convinced me switch from zoology to entomology), Les Ehler for insect classification (urged me to go to Berkeley for my PhD), Norman Gary for insect behavior (great teacher), Robbin Thorp for insect physiology (and my advisor), and of course, Richard Bohart for insect systematics (tough, but kind).  I can definitely say that my time at UC Davis and in the entomology department (I practically lived in Briggs Hall) was the formative period of my life."

Lamberti joined the University of Notre Dame faculty in 1989 as an assistant professor, advanced to associate professor in 1995, and to professor in 2000. He chaired the department from 2008 to 2014. (See CV)

He will receive the award Wednesday, May 18 in Grand Rapids, Mich., at the SFS annual meeting.