On October 24th, WINGS WorldQuest will induct five new Fellows during our 2024 Women of Discovery Awards Gala in New York City. In a special Q&A series, we are sharing a little bit about each honoree. Dr. Jessica Ware is a full curator at the American Museum of Natural History where she serves as Chair of the Division of Invertebrate Zoology. Dr. Ware’s research focuses on the evolution of behavioral and physiological adaptations in insects, with an emphasis on how these occur in Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) and Dictyoptera (termites, cockroaches, and mantises).
WINGS: Tell us your story. How did you get involved in science and your field specifically?
DR. JESSICA WARE: I went to university thinking I would study marine biology. When I took invertebrate zoology, I learned that there were more insects than anything else on earth! It was fascinating and I became an entomologist then and there!
WINGS: What is something you would like people to understand about your work?
DR. JESSICA WARE: Entomology is a vast field that touches on a lot of other fields, such as evolution, physics, chemistry, anthropology and history. Insects have been around for hundreds of millions of years before mammals (including humans) and earth has been shaped by insect biodiversity.
WINGS: What are the greatest barriers to more women working in science?
DR. JESSICA WARE: Systemic sexism, racism and homophobia is unfortunately all too common in our science spaces.
WINGS: What gets you up in the morning?
DR. JESSICA WARE: I am fascinated by insects, and really want to understand their evolutionary history. How long have dragonflies been flying and mating they way they currently do? What drove the social behaviour we see in some insects and not others? It’s so exciting to think about and makes me want to get up every day and keep learning!
WINGS: What’s your next challenge?
DR. JESSICA WARE: I am currently working to understand the dragonfly flight, metabolic patterns and freezing tolerance. Each of these aspects of dragonfly biology is interesting but hard to study, definitely a challenge!
WINGS: Describe yourself in three words.
DR. JESSICA WARE: Enthusiastic, Persevering, and Curious.
