Wendell L. Roelofs

Wendell Lee Roelofs
Born	(1938-07-26) July 26, 1938 Orange City, Iowa
Education	bachelor's degree (chemistry, 1960) PhD 1964 NIH post doctoral fellowship
Alma mater	Central College in Pella, Iowa Indiana University Bloomington Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Occupation	biochemist
Employer(s)	Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Entomology-Geneva
Known for	Developed insect sex attractants for pest control
Title	Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Insect Biochemistry
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Marilyn Joyce Kuiken (c:a 1960 until ?) Donna R. Gray (1989 until ?) Joanna Roelofs, Jan. 13, 2005
Children	Brenda Jo, Caryn Jean, Jeffrey Lee, and Kevin Jon
Parent(s)	Edward and Edith Beyers Roelofs
Relatives	two brothers, one chemist, the other an electrical engineer
Awards	1973 J Everett Bussart Award, Entomol Soc Am 1977 Alexander von Humboldt Award 1990 Silver Medal, Int Soc Chem Ecol 1982 Wolf Prize in Agriculture 1983 National Medal of Science 2001 American Chemical Society's Kenneth A. Spencer Award in agricultural chemistry 1985 DSc, Central College 1988 Hobart and William Smith Colleges 1988 Indiana University 1989 Lund University, Sweden 1989 Free University Brussels, Belgium
Notes

Wendell L. Roelofs (born July 26, 1938) was the first researcher to characterize insect sex pheromone structures, developing microchemical techniques for the isolation and identification of pheromone components.

Education and career

Roelofs obtained his BS in chemistry in 1960 from Central College in Pella, Iowa and his PhD in organic chemistry from Indiana University in 1964. He is the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Insect Biochemistry in the Department of Entomology at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

In his spare time, Roelofs coache[d] a youth league football team of kids aged eleven and twelve. Roelofs likened a cooperative effort in the laboratory to teamwork in football. With a coach's natural ability, he fostered an atmosphere where people could contribute their academic strengths and interests. "With our wide range of interests, we can always follow the most interesting lead whether it's my area of expertise or not," .... "That's how we stay at the forefront. It's synergistic. There's more creativity among us all."

Award

Roelofs received the National Medal of Science from President Ronald Reagan in 1983.

References

• Roelofs, Wendell; Dennehy, Timothy (July 13, 1989). "Nonchemical Pesticides Need Encouragement". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-05-30. (letter to the editor)
• Dennehy, T. J., W. L. Roelofs, E. F. Taschenberg, and T. N. Taft (1990). "Mating disruption for control of grape berry moth in New York vineyards". In R. L Ridgway; R. M. Silverstein; M. N. Inscoe (eds.). Behavior modifying chemicals for insect management: applications of pheromones and other attractants. New York: Marcel Dekker. pp. 223–240.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Wendell Roelofs (1970). Moths, drugs & pheromones. Washington: American Chemical Society. LCCN 79740512. Sound recording, on side 2 of 1 cassette

External links

• Roelofs homepage at Cornell University