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Gregory
A. Dahlem, Ph.D.
Northern
Kentucky University
Department
of Biological Sciences
Highland
Heights, KY 41099
Office:
SC-248
Phone:
(859) 572-6638
E-mail:
dahlem@nku.edu
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Some Background
Information about me:
From the time that I was a young
boy, I was fascinated by the miniature world of insects and the natural
world around me. While in Junior High, I volunteered and then worked
as a Junior Staff member at the Dayton Museum of Natural History in
Dayton, Ohio (the name was changed in 1999 to the Boonshoft Museum of
Discovery). I attended high school at Wayne High School in Huber
Heights, Ohio and worked as a Veterinary Technician at a local veterinary
clinic. When the time came to choose a university to attend, I
chose the one Ohio university with a Department of Entomology: The Ohio
State University in Columbus.
During my time as an undergraduate student at Ohio
State, I was introduced to many new facets of the Natural Sciences.
I thought for a while about being a veterinarian or a molecular
geneticist, but my studies in the field of entomology made me the
happiest, so I decided to devote myself to the study of insects. I
found that I really enjoyed identifying insects and learning about their
strange lives. Among the vast diversity of insects, flies were my
personal favorite. I continued my education by getting my Master's
Degree at Ohio State and then left to Michigan State University to obtain
my Doctorate. The research that I began at graduate school on the
identification and biology of a group of flies known as the "flesh
flies" continues to this day.
Upon graduation from Michigan State in 1989, I moved
back to the Cincinnati area, as my wife Terri was offered a nice job
opportunity. I originally worked as the Director of a small business
that I set-up (The Center for Insect Identification, Inc.) but I was
unable to grow the business to the point of generating significant income.
I was lucky enough to be offered a teaching position at Northern Kentucky
Univ. and found that I really enjoyed teaching and sharing my love of the
natural world with my students. I have continued to enjoy teaching
at NKU and hope that my students capture some of my enthusiasm for the
exciting field of biology and entomology.
I love to travel and my research on the flesh flies has
taken me across the U.S. and to foreign destinations including Australia, Canada,
Mexico, Costa Rica, England, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Austria, and Hungary.
I am currently involved in research on the flies of Costa Rica and try to
get back there as often as possible.
Working with insects is my work and my play. I
maintain a fairly large collection of insects, particularly in the realm
of flies. I serve as the Adjunct Curator of Entomology for the
Cincinnati Museum Center (formerly the Cincinnati Museum of Natural
History). I give insect related
presentations to civic organizations such as Cub Scouts, 4-H, etc. and to
school groups, as time allows. Outside of entomology, I enjoy
reading science fiction and fantasy novels, working in my vegetable
garden, and raising my two children. |
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Fall
2008 Schedule & Class Information |
