Rate My Professor Kris Braman

S. Kris Braman is Professor Emeritus of Entomology in Agricultural and Veterinary Science at the University of Georgia. She earned a Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of Kentucky in 1987 and a B.S. in Forest Biology from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in 1978. Dr. Braman began her career at the University of Georgia in 1989 as Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology, advancing to Associate Professor from 1994 to 2001 and Professor from 2001 onward. Her administrative appointments include Interim Director of the Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture from 2011 to 2014, Director from 2014 to 2016, Interim Assistant Dean at UGA-Griffin from October 2014 to October 2015, and Head of the Department of Entomology since June 2016.

Dr. Braman's research specializes in the ecology and management of insect pests of turf and ornamental plants, identifying and promoting pest-resistant and adapted cultivars, integrating natural enemies and alternative technologies into integrated pest management via tritrophic interactions in urban landscapes, managing invasive and emerging pests, and conserving pollinators and beneficial arthropods. In collaboration with students, she has generated over 200 publications, including 159 refereed journal articles and 16 book chapters. Notable works include Braman et al. (2023) 'Urban bee functional groups response to landscape context in the Southeastern US' in Frontiers in Sustainable Cities; Braman et al. (2022) 'Pollinator cultivar choice: An assessment of season-long pollinator visitation among coreopsis, aster, and salvia cultivars' in Frontiers in Sustainable Cities; Janvier et al. (2022) 'Scale-dependent effects of landscape context on urban bee diversity' in Journal of Insect Conservation; and Berry et al. (2022) 'Assessing repeated oxalic acid vaporization in honey bee colonies for control of Varroa destructor' in Journal of Insect Science.

Her contributions have earned her major awards such as Honorary Member of the Entomological Society of America in 2023, Distinguished Achievement Award in Horticultural Entomology from the Southeastern Branch/ESA in 2009, University of Kentucky Entomology Distinguished Alumni Award in 2008, Georgia Entomological Society Fellow in 2013, and UGA Women’s Leadership Fellow in 2019. She has served as President of the Georgia Entomological Society in 2006 and President of the Entomological Society of America Southeastern Branch in 2009, and completed the LEAD 21 Leadership Program from 2007 to 2008.