Neurobiologist John Hildebrand of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is due to deliver the first installment of the Department of Entomology's Distinguished Seminar Series.

The department announced that Hildebrand's talk, "Lessons from the Insect Model," will begin at 7 p.m. May 16 at the University Club. The event is free and open to the public.

The same day, Hildebrand is scheduled to deliver a noon-hour seminar, "Explorations of a Simple Olfactory System," in 122 Briggs Hall, also free and open to the public.

Hildebrand, a newly elected member of the National Academy of Science, focuses his re-search on the insect's sense of smell, particularly the olfactory system of the giant sphinx moth, Manduca sexta. The insect — commonly known as the tobacco hornworm as a caterpillar and the hawkmoth or sphinx moth as an adult — is considered an excellent research model.

Hildebrand seeks to understand the olfactory mechanisms that underlie beneficial and harmful behaviors that impact human health and welfare.