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Derek Hennen
Entomology
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Derek joined the Marek Lab of Systematic Entomology at Virginia Tech in the fall of 2015 and completed his dissertation in April of 2020. His research at Virginia Tech focused on the systematics, biodiversity, and general ecology of Myriapoda (Millipedes, centipedes, and others). Despite their diversity, millipedes are critically under-studied, even with a center of their diversity being the Appalachian Mountains.The unique habitats in the Appalachians and the environmental challenges faced by the region make it one of the best places in the world to study these organisms, particularly in light of the threat of climate change and invasive species. Derek is also interested in the ecological effects of invasive species, gall-forming insects, cultural entomology, citizen science, and science communication.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”35572″ img_size=”275×355″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_border”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]He earned a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Spanish from Marietta College in 2012, where he pursued a variety of research projects, including a biological survey of assassin bugs and an examination of millipede diversity in two separate microhabitats. After earning his B.S., Derek completed a year of service as an Americorps VISTA with a nonprofit focused on watershed health and environmental issues in southeast Ohio.
Derek completed his M.S. at the University of Arkansas in 2015. His research focused on the endemic arthropods of western Arkansas, and he produced an updated listing of the state’s endemic arthropods, a synopsis of and taxonomic guide to Arkansas’s 68 millipede species, and a study of the diurnal periodicity of leaf litter arthropods in an oak-hickory forest in northwest Arkansas. He also received a grant from the Ohio Biological Survey to collect millipedes throughout Ohio and write a guide to the state’s species.
Derek’s interest in science communication has motivated him to find opportunities to connect science to the public. He was the Outreach Coordinator for the Isely-Baerg Entomology Club at the University of Arkansas, and has been invited to give public talks to student groups, museums, and conferences. He has led natural history field trips at the Midwest Native Plants Conference and Mothapalooza, and co-taught a workshop for graduate students about how to use social media to advance their professional careers. He is a member of the Entomological Society of America, in which he has served on the Entomological Collections Position Statement Committee. He is also a member of the Ohio Biological Survey, and the Entomological Collections Network, where he serves as a social media coordinator. Derek has written a personal blog (http://normalbiology.blogspot.com/) since 2010, and has written articles about his research for sites such as Entomology Today and The Conversation. He can be found on Twitter @derekhennen.
Derek’s goals for his time as an IGC fellow included working with other scientists to assess how invasive species and climate change are affecting the biota of the Appalachian Mountains, making millipedes more accessible to study by interested scientists and non-scientists alike, and finding more ways to engagingly communicate science to the public.
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In the News
Paul Marek’s lab at Virginia Tech uncovers new species of milipedes in Appalachia:
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