May Berenbaum graduated summa cum laude, with a
B.S. degree and honors in
biology, from Yale University in 1975; she attended graduate school at
Cornell University and received a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology
in 1980. Since 1980, she has been a member of the faculty of the
Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
she has served as head of the department since 1992. Among other
accolades, she received the George Mercer award from the Ecological Society
of America in recognition of her research on plant/insect interactions and
the Founder's Award from the Entomological Society of America in
acknowledgment of her contributions to the science of entomology. She is a
fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a
member of the National Academy of Science. In addition to her research,
she is devoted to teaching and to fostering scientific literacy; she is the
recipient of the 1996 Entomological Society of America North Central Branch
Distinguished Teaching Award and has authored numerous magazine articles,
as well as four books about insects for the general public. She has also
gained some measure of fame as the organizer of the Insect Fear Film
Festival at the University of Illinois, an annual celebration of
Hollywood's entomological excesses, now in its nineteenth year.