Catherine N. Duckett
Encyclopedia
Catherine N. Duckett is the Associate Dean of the School of Science at Monmouth University
Monmouth University
Monmouth University is a private university located in West Long Branch, New Jersey, United States.Founded in 1933 as Monmouth Junior College, it became Monmouth College in 1956, and later Monmouth University in 1995 after receiving its charter....

. Formerly she worked as Associate Director of the Office for the Promotion of Women in Science, Engineering and Mathematics, and the Program Manager of the Ocean Biogeographic Information System
Ocean Biogeographic Information System
The Ocean Biogeographic Information System is a web-based access point to information about the distribution and abundance of living species in the ocean.-History:...

 at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...

, as well as a former Associate professor of Biology at University of Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...

 at Rio Piedras. She is also a prominent systematic entomologist, specializing in the phylogeny of flea beetle
Flea beetle
Flea beetles is a general name applied to the small, jumping beetles of the leaf beetle family . They make up the tribe Alticini, which is a part of the subfamily Galerucinae, though they were historically classified as a subfamily in their own right...

s, and an adjunct professor at Rutgers.

Research

Duckett works primarily in systematics
Systematics
Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of terrestrial life, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees...

, the study of biological diversity and its classification. This involves analyzing the genetic relationship between species and the description and documentation of new taxonomic and morphological
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....

 features. She works on the taxonomy and systematics of the Chrysomelidae or the leaf beetle
Leaf beetle
Beetles in the family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles. This is a family of over 35,000 species in more than 2,500 genera, one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle families....

, with a focus on the phylogeny of flea beetles (Alticini: Galerucinae). In the past she has focused on the Oedionychines (like Alagoasa aurora) with Karl Kjer at Rutgers. Besides phylogeny, she is interested in the evolution of mimicry, evolution of larval morphologies, and host-plant use patterns. She and her collaborators have described seven different species of Flea beetle and one new genus (Etapocanga) as new to science,. Duckett and collaborators have also described the first immatures known in three genera including Ivalia Jacoby.

Duckett and collaborators have also published systematic hypotheses about the evolution of Chrysomelidae, and flea beetles as listed on her curriculum vitae.

Women's studies

Duckett worked alongside Joan W. Bennett
Joan W. Bennett
Joan W. Bennett is a prominent mycologist, fungal geneticist and Associate Vice-President for Promotion of Women in Science, Engineering and Mathematics at Rutgers University. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences....

 at the Office for the Promotion of Women in Science, Engineering and Mathematics at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...

. The organization is unique in its online catalog of influential women scientists and researchers from fields spanning from physics to anthropology. Notably, the site includes a "my story" section, where the women have submitted biographies including both personal anecdotes and their career histories. Duckett's own story is posted. She currently co-directs the women in science and mathematics program http://www.monmouth.edu/academics/schools/science/women_in_science/default.asp at Monmouth University.

Awards

-1996 & 2002, "Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers."

-1999, Universidad de Puerto Rico Recinto de Río Piedras, “Reconocimiento por Excelencia Académica y Productividad”.

-1989-1990, Fulbright-Hays Fellowship to Venezuela to conduct field and museum studies.

Education

-1987-1993, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York., Ph.D. Entomology.

-1985-1987, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, M.A. Biology.

-1979-1983, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, B.A. with Honors.

External links

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