Warwick Estevam Kerr facts for kids

Warwick Estevam Kerr (born September 9, 1922 – died September 15, 2018) was an important Brazilian scientist. He was an agricultural engineer, a geneticist (someone who studies how traits are passed down), and an entomologist (someone who studies insects). He was also a professor and a leader in science.

Kerr was famous for his discoveries about genetics and how the sex of bees is decided. He also played a role in the story of the Africanized bee in the Americas. In 1957, 26 queen bees from Tanzania (Apis mellifera scutellata) were accidentally released in Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil. These bees were from hives Kerr was working with, where he had been mixing honey bees from Europe and southern Africa. The Africanized bees we see today are direct descendants of those bees.

About Warwick Estevam Kerr

Warwick Kerr was born in 1922 in Santana do Parnaíba, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. His parents were Américo Caldas Kerr and Bárbara Chaves Kerr. His family originally came from Scotland and had moved to Brazil through the United States. In 1925, his family moved to Pirapora do Bom Jesus, São Paulo.

His Education and Early Career

Kerr went to high school at Mackenzie in São Paulo. After that, he studied at the Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz at the University of São Paulo in Piracicaba. He graduated as an agricultural engineer.

His scientific work began in Piracicaba, where he earned his advanced degree (D.Sc.). He then became an assistant professor. In the early 1950s, he traveled to the University of California at Davis and Columbia University in the United States to do more studies. At Columbia, he worked with a famous geneticist named Theodosius Dobzhansky.

Working with Bees in Rio Claro

In 1958, Professor Dias da Silveira asked Kerr to help set up the Department of Biology at the Faculdade de Ciências do Rio Claro. This was part of the new State University of São Paulo (UNESP) in the city of Rio Claro. Kerr stayed there until 1964, leading a research team that focused on the genetics of bees. This was his main area of study.

From 1962 to 1964, he also served as the Scientific Director for the new São Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP). This foundation helps fund scientific research.

Leading Research Centers

In 1964, Kerr became a full professor of Genetics at the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto at the University of São Paulo. Here, he created an excellent research center. This center was especially good at studying the genetics of insects and human genetics. Many students earned their master's and doctoral degrees under his guidance.

His department also started new areas of study like mathematical biology (using math to understand biology) and biostatistics (using statistics in biology). They were among the first to use computers in biology and medicine, especially for genetics related to animal husbandry (raising farm animals).

Later Career and Retirement

From 1975 to 1979, Kerr moved to Manaus, in the state of Amazonas. He became the director of the National Institute of Amazonia Research (INPA). This is a research institute that studies the Amazon rainforest.

He officially retired from the University of São Paulo in 1981. However, he didn't stop doing science! Just eleven days later, he accepted a job as a full professor at the Universidade Estadual do Maranhão in São Luís. There, he was in charge of creating the Department of Biology. For a short time (1987–1988), he also served as the Dean of the university. In 1988, he moved to the Universidade Federal de Uberlândia in Uberlândia, where he continued to teach genetics.

Warwick Kerr's Discoveries and Achievements

Throughout his career, Warwick Kerr continued his research on Meliponini, which are a type of Neotropical stingless bees, especially the genus Melipona. These bees are often hunted by people who gather wild honey.

Kerr became very well known for his research on mixing different types of bees, a process called hybridization. He studied the African bee and the Italian bee (Apis mellifera ligustica). His work helped us understand how these bees mix and what happens when they do.

He wrote 620 scientific papers on many different topics. He was a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. He was also an international member of the National Academy of Sciences in the US and the Third World Academy of Sciences. In 1994, the President of Brazil, Itamar Franco, honored him with the highest class of the National Order of Scientific Merit.

See also

In Spanish: Warwick Estevam Kerr para niños