Neonics Seminar Featuring Dr. Judy Wu-Smart

Twin Cities TU is pleased to be the hosting chapter for TU's National Meeting, CX3, to be held at the St. Paul Intercontinental Hotel from September 23-27, 2026.  CX3 will include educational seminars on a number of important environmental topics, including Neonicotinoid Insecticides.  All of the educational seminars are free to attend, and tickets may be obtained here.  We are particularly looking forward to a session on Neonicotinoid Insecticides, to be held on Saturday, September 26th from 2:45 to 4pm in the State Suite, featuring Dr. Judy Wu-Smart. 

Dr. Wu-Smart is an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and has directed the UNL Bee Lab since 2015. Her research and Extension program examines how environmental stressors, including pesticides, pests, diseases, and habitat loss, affect pollinators and the broader ecosystems on which they depend. Her work increasingly focuses on the movement and impacts of systemic pesticides such as neonicotinoids across landscapes, including their potential effects on non-target organisms, aquatic and terrestrial food webs, ecosystem functioning, and interconnected human, animal, and environmental health. Through a One Health approach, Dr. Wu-Smart works to connect research across disciplines and translate complex environmental science into information that can support conservation, agricultural management, and informed policy decisions.  She brought public attention to the AltEn Ethanol plant disaster.
Dr. Wu-Smart will be joined by Lucas Rhoads of the Natural Resources Defense Council to discuss the environmental impacts of Neonic-treated seed coatings, regulations passed recently in New York State to restrict neonic usage, and other efforts throughout the US to regulate neonics.