Michael S. Engel

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Michael S. Engel
Born September 24, 1971 (1971-09-24) (age 36)
Creve Coeur, Missouri U.S.
Residence U.S.
Nationality American
Alma mater Cornell University Ph.D, 1998
University of Kansas B.Sc., 1993
University of Kansas B.A., 1993
Occupation Paleontologist, Entomologist
Religious beliefs United Church of Christ
Parents A. Gayle Engel (1940- ) and Donna Gail Engel (1941- ), née Pratt

Michael S. Engel (born 24 September 1971 in Creve Coeur, Missouri) is a paleontologist and entomologist. He has undertaken field work in Central Asia, Asia Minor, and the Western Hemisphere, and published more than 245 papers in scientific journals. He gained his training at the University of Kansas where he received a B.S. in Cellular Biology and a B.A. in Chemistry in 1993, and at Cornell University where in 1998 he obtained his Ph.D. in Entomology. In 2006 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for his work in insect paleontology. Dr. Engel is an authority on the geological history, phylogeny, and taxonomy of insects, and has made particular contributions to the systematics of living and fossil Zoraptera, Isoptera, Dermaptera, Raphidioptera, Neuroptera, and Hymenoptera, most notably the bees, including the honey bees (genus Apis). Some of Dr. Engel's research images have been included in art exhibits on the aesthetic value of scientific imagery [1].

Among his positions are Research Associate at the American Museum of Natural History in New York; Fellow of the Linnean Society of London; and joint appointments as Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Courtesy Professor in the Department of Geology, and Curator-in-Charge (Senior Curator) in the Division of Entomology and Courtesy Curator in the Division of Invertebrate Paleontology of the Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas.

Ismael A. Hinojosa-Díaz, Daniel J. Bennett, Stephanie J. Swenson, Ming-luen Jeng, and Steven R. Davis are just some of his numerous students from all over the world [2].

With David Grimaldi, also an insect systematist and paleontologist, he is co-author of Evolution of the Insects (2005).

Outside of his academic expertise Dr. Engel is a violinist, well versed in theology, philosophy, and antiquities, and is a member of the United Church of Christ (his father, Rev. A.G. Engel, was a long-time Conference Minister with the United Church of Christ).

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[edit] Awards and Honors

Prof. Engel's scientific honors include:

[edit] Eponymy

The following species have been proposed in honor of Dr. Engel:

  1. Lasioglossum (Dialictus) engeli Genaro (a halictid bee from Cuba)
  2. Braunsapis engeli Jobiraj (a small allodapine bee from southern India)
  3. Cretostylops engeli Grimaldi & Kathirithamby (the oldest fossil Strepsiptera, from Myanmar)
  4. Sigmophlebia engeli Béthoux & Beckemeyer (a protorthopteran from the Early Permian of Oklahoma)

[edit] References

  • Engel, M.S. (2001) A monograph of the Baltic amber bees and evolution of the Apoidea (Hymenoptera). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 259: 1-192.
  • Engel, M.S. & D.A. Grimaldi (2002) The first Mesozoic Zoraptera (Insecta). American Museum Novitates 3362: 1-20.
  • Engel, M.S. & D.A. Grimaldi (2004) New light shed on the oldest insect. Nature 427: 627-630.
  • Grimaldi, D. & Engel, M.S. (2005). Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-82149-5. 

[edit] External links

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