Gregory Pask, an associate professor of biology at Middlebury College, has been awarded the M. Patricia Morse Award for Excellence and Innovation in Science Education by the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology. The award recognizes his significant contributions to science education.
Pask is known for making science accessible to children through creative approaches, such as the Pokémon Pop-Up Museum. This event involves students from his entomology and mammalogy courses creating exhibits that use Pokémon characters to explain biological concepts to younger audiences.
One nominator stated, “Greg has leveraged his enthusiasm for science education to create an engaging and inclusive classroom, as well as doing scientific outreach in both the local community and broader audiences. He continues to drive pedagogical innovation through work on his own campus as well as workshops and writings aimed at the larger community.”
Pask previously received Middlebury’s Perkins Award for teaching excellence in math and natural sciences. His research focuses on insect neurobiology, particularly how insects use their sense of smell for various behaviors like finding food or mates. His current projects study chemical signaling evolution in day-active fireflies and pheromone reception in longhorn beetles. His laboratory combines molecular biology, genetics, electrophysiology, animal behavior, and chemical ecology in its investigations.
The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology is an international organization that promotes research into biological diversity across molecular, organismal, and evolutionary biology.
