Education
PhD Candidate, Insect Biology, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management
University of California, Berkeley 2003-present
current GPA = 4.0
1999-2003: B. Sci, Entomology. Magna cum laude with distinction in research
Cornell University 1999-2003
GPA = 3.8
Teaching and Professional Experience
Fall 2007 GSR: Lab management, Will lab (PCR, microscopy training, general maintenance)
Fall 2006- Spring 2007 GSR: Taxonomic contributor, web designer, and scientific illustrator, Berkeley Bio-Keys project
(biokeys.berkeley.edu)
2006 (Summer) Entomology Instructor, Academic Talent Development Program (UC Berkeley): wrote lectures and
designed hands-on entomology lessons for 7th- and 8th- grade students
2005-2006 GSR: Curatorial assistant, Essig Museum of Entomology: assisted with museum duties (tours, loans, outreach activities); redesigned museum website; produced annual newsletter
Spring 2005 GSI: ESPM 140, Introductory Entomology: designed laboratory curriculum; designed lab exercises and handouts; wrote, administered, and graded lab practical exams
2004 (Summer) Environmental Science Instructor, Early Academic Opportunities Program (UC Berkeley): designed
environmental science/ ecology lesson plan for 9th- and 10th- grader students; wrote 40-pg course handbook, lectured
for 4 hrs/day, 3 days/week
Spring 2004 Graduate Student Instructor: ESPM 140, Introductory Entomology: designed laboratory curriculum; designed lab exercises and handouts; wrote, administered, and graded lab practical exams
Publications
Seago, A. E., 2005. Male description and generic review of Agyrtolasia Szymczakowski, with key to genera of Agyrtodini (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Camiarinae: Agyrtodini). Zootaxa 1103: 1-15.
Seago, A.E. and S. W. Lingafelter, 2003. Discovery of Crepidodera bella Parry (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticini) in Maryland and redescription. Journal of the New York Entomological Society, 111(1): 51-56.
Seago, A. E. and Q. D. Wheeler, 2004. Two new species of Aglyptinus Cockerell with unusual sexually dimorphic antennae and diffraction gratings (Coleoptera: Leiodidae) The Coleopterists Bulletin, 58: 235-244.
Seago, A. E. 2003. Morphological Study of Chiliopelates crenulatus (Hlisnikovsky) with implications for systematics of Agyrtodini. Honors thesis, Cornell University. 50pp. (also presented as seminar talk, May 2003)
Academic Honors and Grants
2007: NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant, $12,000 in research funding towards completion of PhD dissertation (DEB-0710239)
2007: Linnean Society/ Systematics Association: Systematics Research Fund award
2007: Recipient, UC Berkeley Graduate Division Conference Travel Grant
2007: ESPM departmental grant for conference travel
2006: Recipient, Robert L. Usinger Memorial Prize in Entomology
2006: Recipient, Walker Fund (grant for further travel to Australia)
2005: Recipient, Harvey I. Magy Memorial Scholarship
2005: Recipient, Walker Fund (grant for travel to MCZ, MTEC)
2005: Entomology Students' Organization- travel grant to attend ESA conference
2004: Entomology Students' Organization- travel grant to attend ESA conference
2004: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship: Honorable Mention
2004: Recipient, Walker Fund (grant for travel to Australia)
2004: ESPM departmental grant for summer research
2004: ASUC/ Academic Opportunity Fund- grant for summer research 2003: Entomology Students' Organization- travel grant to attend ESA conference
2003: Dean's Award, Cornell University (best academic performance in major), Dean's List, 6 semesters (for high GPA)
2001: Student research internship; Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History (Research Training Program).
1999-2003: Cornell Presidential Research Scholar; $10,000 in research funding plus training, poster, and seminar opportunities
1999: R.F. Byrd Scholarship (Foss High School)
Presentations
"Leiodids: Diversity in a plain brown wrapper." Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting (Section A symposium), Indianapolis, IN, December 10-13 2006.
"Radiant rutelines and spectral sericines: the optics of beetle iridescence." Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting (SOLA Scarab Workers symposium), Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Fall 2005.
"Diffraction gratings in Coleoptera: the mechanism and distribution of unusual structural colors." Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting (student competition, Systematics, Morphology, and Evolution section) Salt Lake City, UT, Fall 2004.
"Iridescence and structural colors in insects." Integrative Biology: Biomechanics seminar series, Berkeley, CA, Fall 2004.
Invited Talks
"Unusual structural colors in Coleoptera." Entomology seminar, Louisiana State University, March 23, 2005.
"Beetle-hunting in Gondwana: A field report from Australia, New Zealand, and Chile." Pacific Coast Entomological Society, April 21, 2006.
Posters
"Structural colors in Coleoptera: the evolution and function of beetle iridescence." Pacific Branch Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Portland OR, March 25-28 2007.
"A survey of color production mechanisms in Carabidae." (with K. Will) 2006 International Carabidologists Meeting, Pittsburgh PA. June 7-10 2006.
"Spectral iridescence in Coleoptera: Optical mechanisms and evolutionary significance." Evolution Annual Meeting, Fairbanks, Alaska. June 10-14, 2005.
"New findings on Agyrtodini, with adult and larval descriptions (Coleoptera: Leiodidae)." XXII International Congress of Entomology, Brisbane, Australia. August 15-21, 2004.
"Diffraction gratings in insect cuticle and spectral iridescence in Coleoptera." XXII International Congress of Entomology, Brisbane, Australia. August 15-21, 2004.
Professional memberships
Entomological Society of America
Society of Systematic Biologists
Coleopterists Society
Sigma Xi
Entomology Students Organization, UC Berkeley
ESO president, 2005-2006
ESO Graduate Assembly representative, 2004-2005
Fieldwork
November 2007: New Zealand, South Island
January 2007: Southern Chile
November 2006: Australia, SE Victoria
January 2006: Southern Chile
November 2005: New Zealand (both islands)
August 2004: Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, SE Queensland
July 2003: New Zealand (North Island); Australia, ACT
Spring 2002: Costa Rica, OTS La Selva station
Spring 2001: Southern Chile
North America- ongoing collection of outgroups
Museums visited
American Museum of Natural History, New York (AMNH)
Australian Museum, Sydney (AM)
Australian National Insect Collection/CSIRO, Canberra (ANIC)
Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis (UCDC)
California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco (CAS)
Cornell University Insect Collection, Ithaca NY (CUIC)
Essig Museum, UC Berkeley (EMEC)
Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago (FMNH)
Florida State Arthropod Collection, Gainesville (FSCA)
Juan-Enrique Barriga Collection, Curico, Chile (JEBC)
Louisiana State Arthropod Museum, Baton Rouge (LSAM)
Lincoln University, Christchurch, NZ (LUNZ)
Montana Entomology Collection, MSU (MTEC)
Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Chile, Santiago (MNHNC)
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard (MCZ)
Museum of Victoria, Melbourne (MVMA)
Natural History Museum, London (BNHM)
New Zealand Arthropod Collection, Auckland (NZAC)
Queensland Museum, Brisbane (QM)
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C. (NMNH)
Snow Museum, U. Kansas, Lawrence KS (SNOW)
University of Arizona Insect Collection, Tucson (UAIC)
Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia (CFUA)