Speakers and lectures

Keynote speakers

Rebeca Rosengaus: (confirmed)Prof. Rosengaus is based at the Northeastern University in USA. Her research aims to understand the factors that may have selected for the evolution of termite sociality. She has hypothesized that pathogens and/or parasites may have played important selection forces that favoured the evolution of complex insect societies.

David Sillam-Dussès: (confirmed) Dr. Sillam-Dussès is based at the Laboratoire d’Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée, Univ. Paris 13, and at the IEES-Paris (Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris), where his research focuses on reproductive strategies, defensive strategies, evolution, glands structure and function, and mainly chemical communication of termites.
Octavio Miramontes Vidal: (confirmed) Dr. Miramontes is based at the Physics Department and the Center of Complexity Sciences (C3), National Autonomous University of Mexico. His research focuses on emergent phenomena in living systems based on the complex systems theory. The studies on termites of Prof. Miramontes have revealed the social facilitation phenomenon and space exploration strategies highly sophisticated common to non-living matter.

Theodore Evans:(confirmed) Dr. Evans is based at the School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia. His research focuses on the evolution and ecology of sociality (esp. in insects and spiders) including questions such as: how did the solitary cockroaches developed into social termites? What drove the subsequent diversification of termites into various niches? How do so many species with similar requirements coexist? And how termites affect plant growth through their roles as ecosystem engineers?

Alexandre Vasconcellos:(confirmed) Conservation of Caatinga: a new proposal using the termites as a model. Dr. Vasconcellos is based at the Federal University of Paraíba, in Brazil, where he researches on ecology and biogeography of termites, soil ecology and ecology of decomposition.

Ana Maria Costa-Leonardo:(confirmed) Termites: feeding physiology and their use as target and model in biotechnology. Dr. Costa-Leonardo is based at the São Paulo State University, Campus Rio Claro, Brazil where she researches biology of Isoptera focusing on morphology of exocrine glands, reproduction, and foragin behaviour.

Carlos Schaefer: (confirmed) Termites, tropical soils and subsoils: an interlaced origin. Dr. Schaefer is based at the Federal University of Viçosa (Brazil), where he teaches Pedology, Geomorphology and Landscape Ecology. He has experience in Soil Science, High Mountain and Antarctic Vegetation, Landscape Ecology and Geomorphology, working mainly in the following subjects: Soil Geomorphology, Antarctic Ecology and Criosols, Soil Chemistry, Periglacial Geomorphology, Soil Micromorphology, oil-vegetation interactions, Archaeological Soils, Ecology and Soils of Brazilian Oceanic Islands, Soil Management, Ethnopedology and Soils of the Amazon (emphasis in Roraima and Acre). UFV soils Department pointed Dr. Carlos to receive the P.H Rolfs award for Research Merit on 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Letícia Paiva (confirmed) Physics of Foraging. Dra. Letícia Paiva is based at the Federal University of São João del-Rei. She is interested in complex systems, statistical physics, and biological physics. Her research focuses on self-organization and patterns of movement in foraging and ecology of termites.

Og DeSouza (confirmed). Macro symbioses in termite nests. Dr. DeSouza is based at the Federal University of Viçosa, in Brazil, where he researches on termite behavioural ecology including termite inquilinism, termitophily, and self-organized social and foraging behaviour of termites.