My apologies to anyone receiving this more than once. I sent this to
individuals in DEP Vector Mgmt. and to the PVCA and Ent. Soc. of PA mailing
lists.

From http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/tylerprize/


The 2003 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement is being awarded to Yoel
Margalith to honor him for his contributions to the biological control of
mosquitoes and black flies. His discovery in 1976 of the new microbial
subspecies known as Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) has had an enormous
effect on human health and on environmental quality.

Bti is a naturally occurring microbial agent, which is lethal to most species of
mosquitoes and black flies. Unlike chemical pesticides, Bti has little negative
environmental impact, as it is specific to the larvae of mosquitoes and black
flies, while other organisms are unaffected. This natural enemy to the mosquito
and black fly is often far cheaper than chemical alternatives. No significant
resistance to Bti has been reported in over twenty years of use. Bti has
increasingly been chosen for controlling mosquito and black fly born diseases.
Bti has been used very effectively against river blindness, along the Volta
River in eleven African countries. The sight of millions has been saved and
repopulation of deserted river valleys has been initiated. Additionally,
malarial infections from pesticide resistant mosquitoes have dropped by 90%
along the Yangtze River, China, which has a population of over 20 million
people.

In addition to his discovery and research on Bti, Dr. Margalith has helped
introduce the concept of Integrated Biological Control (IBC) against mosquitoes
in the Middle East, Central Asia, Europe, and Africa. Integrated Biological
Control includes not only production and introduction of Bti into mosquito and
black fly infested areas but also involves ecological manipulation of the
mosquito and black fly habitat as well as introduction of fish predators to the
insects breeding areas.

Dr. Margalith was born in Yugoslavia on February 9, 1933. He was a prisoner from
1944-45 at the Bergen-Belzen and Terezienstadt Concentration Camps. He
immigrated to Israel in 1948 and joined the Shaar Haamakim Kibbutz. He received
his Bachelors' degree from the Department of Zoology at Hebrew University in
Jerusalem in 1962, his MSc in Entomology in 1967 and a PhD degree in
Parasitology in 1971 both from Hebrew University. He was a visiting research
associate at the Center for Biology and Natural Systems of Washington University
in St. Louis, Missouri in 1972 and a visiting Associate Professor at Southern
Illinois University from 1973 through 1975. In 1976, he returned to Israel as a
Senior Scientist at the Israel Institute for Biological Research, Nes Ziona. He
became a Senior lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences at Ben Gurion
University of the Negev in 1978 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1988
where he currently is Professor of Entomology and Director of the Center for
Biological Control. He was also a visiting scholar of Tropical Public Health at
Harvard School of Public Health from 1990-92.

Dr. Margalith has been an active researcher, teacher and author. He has
published some 60 scientific articles, the author of 2 books and co-editor of
several collective volumes on Bacterial control of insect pests. He served as
President of the Zoological Society of Israel form 1979-1981. Internationally
recognized as a leader in his field, Margalith has won numerous awards,
including an Honorary Doctorate from the Universidad Autonoma de Neuvo Leon in
Monterrey, Mexico; the Presidential Citation Award from the American Mosquito
Control Association (AMCA) and a Special Citation Award by the Greek Mosquito
Abatement Organization. He was awarded the first honorary membership in the
Hungarian Mosquito Control Association. The Society of Invertebrate Pathology
bestowed upon him a special award for his achievements in Integrated Biological
Control. He was also made the first honorary member of the European Mosquito
Control Association.

Margalith has devoted his professional career to initiating and supervising
programs to eradicate mosquitoes and black flies in Israel and around the world.
He is popularly known worldwide as Israel's "Mr. Mosquito" and his efforts in
introducing integrated biological control have saved millions of lives worldwide
and protected many regions of the world from the effects of chemical pollution.


Ben Russell - 610-832-6057
Black Fly Suppression Program
Pennsylvania DEP - Southeast Region