USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) Scientist Michael Ulyshen is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Ulyshen is the only U.S. Forest Service scientist and one of three U.S. Department of Agriculture employees to receive this honor.

The PECASE is the highest award for federal scientists and engineers in the early career stage and recognizes innovative research and commitment to community service.

Research Entomologist

“It is really exciting to receive this award but I want to stress that everything I have done has been in collaboration with other people,” Ulyshen said. “I have been extremely lucky to work with so many great researchers over the years.” Ulyshen began his Forest Service career in 2010. In that short time he has authored or coauthored more than 34-peer-reviewed publications along with three book chapters. His work has also been recognized both nationally and internationally.

Ulyshen is a research entomologist with the SRS Insects, Diseases, and Invasive Plants unit in Athens, Ga. “Currently I am involved in projects on pollinators, wood-boring beetles, decomposition and forest health issues. Understanding how forest management decisions affect pollinators is a new research direction for me but I am hoping to make this a larger focus of what I do in the future,” he said.

Besides working as a research scientists with the SRS, he also works with aspiring future scientists as an adjunct faculty member in the entomology department at University of Georgia. “My advice to young people interested in pursuing research careers is to work with as many different people as possible and to take advantage of good opportunities as they come along, even when they may point in unexpected directions.”

https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/619

January 12, 2017, Athens, GA —