CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — The White House has named a University of Illinois entomology professor as a winner of the nation’s highest honor for achievement in science and technology.

May Berenbaum and other recipients will receive the National Medal of Science in Washington later this year.

The chancellor of the Urbana campus, Phyllis Wise, says Berenbaum’s work has “fundamentally changed” what’s known about the role of insects in human life.

In addition to her research, Berenbaum also created the annual Insect Fear Film Festival. It features films, an insect petting zoo and an insect art contest.

Berenbaum has been a University of Illinois faculty member since 1980. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology from Yale University in 1975. She earned a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Cornell University in 1980.

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