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 

 

 


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.


Spring 2013 Schedule & Class Information


Undergraduate research


International Travel


Research on the Flesh Flies (Sarcophagidae)