Entomologist Wins Prestigious Wolf Prize in Agriculture

A researcher in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences is the recipient of the prestigious 2008 Wolf Prize in Agriculture for his scientific contributions in the field of chemical ecology.

James Tumlinson, the Ralph O. Mumma Endowed Professor of Entomology and director of the university’s Center for Chemical Ecology, was honored for his work that, according to the Wolf Foundation, has “fostered the development of integrated pest management and significantly advanced agricultural sustainability.” The Wolf Prize in Agriculture is considered the agricultural equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

A former leader of the Insect Chemistry Research Group at the Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Tumlinson is the second Penn Stater to win a Wolf Prize. The other was John Almquist, professor emeritus of dairy physiology, who was honored nearly three decades ago for his contributions to the study of reproductive systems in cattle.

The Israel-based Wolf Foundation was established by the late German- born inventor, diplomat, and philanthropist, Ricardo Wolf. Six annual Wolf Prizes of $100,000 in the areas of medicine, agriculture, physics, mathematics, chemistry, and the arts have been awarded since 1978 to outstanding scientists and artists “for achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among peoples, irrespective of nationality, race, color, religion, sex, or political view.”