UCR professor presented with the achievement award

Dr. Chow-Yang Lee

University of California – Riverside (UCR) Professor and Endowed Presidential Chair in Urban Entomology Dr. Chow-Yang Lee, BCE, was presented with the 2022 Distinguished Achievement Award in Urban Entomology in recognition of his contributions to the field.

The award is considered the highest recognition urban entomologists can receive in the field, according to a news release. Dr. Lee was presented the award on May 16 in Salt Lake City, Utah, at this year’s National Conference on Urban Entomology, where he also delivered the Arnold Mallis Memorial Award Lecture. Mallis is a member of the Pest Management Professional Hall of Fame (Class of 2007).

Dr. Lee is an expert in the biology and management of insect pests that impact commercial, industrial and residential settings in urban environments. He joined UCR’s entomology department in 2019 after spending nearly 25 years as a faculty member at Universiti Sains Malaysia. His research centers on the behavioral, ecological and physiological adaptations of urban insect pests such as cockroaches, termites and bed bugs, particularly understanding how they help them thrive in the urban environment.

Dr. Lee and his students design, evaluate and integrate multiple management tactics to provide a system-level approach towards urban pest management.

Recently, the Lee Lab has conducted research on German cockroaches and bed bugs and found practical solutions to managing insecticide-resistant populations while minimizing the risk associated with neurotoxic insecticide treatment by developing low-toxic approaches.

Other research projects include studying population genetics of invasive species in Southern California. Dr. Lee’s research benefits not only the field of entomology, but housing management professionals, public health agencies and California residents who deal with pest control.