John E. Casida facts for kids

Here John E. Casida performs in Sonya Rapoport’s interactive installation "Biorhythm: How Do You Feel?" at WORKS gallery in San Jose, California (1983).

John Edward Casida (born December 22, 1929, died June 30, 2018) was an important American scientist. He was an entomologist, which means he studied insects. He was also a toxicologist, someone who studies how chemicals can harm living things. He taught at the University of California, Berkeley.

Early Life and Education

John Casida was born in the United States in 1929. He went to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He earned his first degree (a Bachelor of Science) in 1951. He continued his studies there, getting his Master's degree in 1951 and his PhD in 1954.

Important Research

John Casida was famous for his work on how chemicals affect living things. He studied how common bug killers (insecticides), weed killers (herbicides), and mold killers (fungicides) work. He also looked at how these chemicals can harm insects and other living things.

How Insecticides Work

One of his big discoveries was about certain insecticides, like ryanoids and cyclodienes. He found that these chemicals mess with how nerves work in insects. They affect tiny pathways called calcium and GABA channels. This discovery helped scientists find new ways to create chemicals that can control pests.

Studying Chemical Effects

Casida also researched how chemicals like organophosphates, pyrethroids, and neonicotinoids are made. He studied how they break down in the body and how they cause harm. His work helped us understand the good and bad sides of using pesticides.

He created new compounds that were more effective and didn't stay in the environment as long as older pesticides. His research helped make pesticides safer and more useful.

A Highly Respected Scientist

John Casida was a very active researcher. He wrote more than 850 scientific papers. He was known as a "Highly Cited" researcher, which means many other scientists used his work in their own studies.

Awards and Honors

John Casida received many important awards for his scientific contributions.

• In 1991, he was chosen to be a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences. This is a very high honor for scientists in the U.S.
• In 1998, he became a member of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom.
• In 1993, he won the Wolf Prize in Agriculture. This award recognized his groundbreaking studies on how insecticides work. It also honored his efforts to design safer pesticides.
• He also received the Founders Award from the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in 1994.
• In 1995, he was given the Koro-Sho Prize from the Pesticide Science Society of Japan.

He held a special teaching position at the University of California, Berkeley. It was called the William Muriece Hoskins Chair in Chemical and Molecular Entomology.