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Kenneth S. Hagen  (1919-1997)
Kenneth Sverre Hagen, Entomological Sciences: Berkeley 1919-1997 Professor of Entomology, Emeritus Kenneth Sverre Hagen, worldwide recognized as authority in the fields of Biological Control and Entomology, died suddenly of a ruptured aortic aneurism on the 10th of January, 1997, while driving home from his laboratory at the Gill Tract, Albany He is survived by his wife, Maxine, son Kent, and brother Paul. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Hagen was born in Oakland on November 26, 1919. He attended local primary and secondary schools, graduating from Fremont High School in Oakland. He attended the University of California at Berkeley, obtaining a B.S. in 1943. His higher education was interrupted by World War II. However, after completing his tour of duty he returned to the University of California at Berkeley where he earned the degrees of M.S. in 1948 and Ph.D. in 1952. As a young Naval Officer from 1943 until the end of war, he saw major action in the European and Pacific theaters. He commanded landing craft under fierce enemy fire to beach heads at Normandy and Okinawa. His interest in the subject of his long-lasting scientific career--the insects--began early, when as a child he collected, prepared, and identified insects from various localities throughout the Bay Area. Hagen began his long university career at Berkeley in 1947 as a technician in the Division of Biological Control while earning his advanced degrees. It was during this period that he was introduced to the power of insects and other organisms in regulating the populations of other organisms (i.e., biological control) under the leadership of Harry Scott Smith, who had an important influence in shaping his research career. Upon completing his Ph.D., Hagen was appointed Junior Entomologist in the Division of Biological Control, Agricultural Experiment Station, at the Gill Tract in Albany in 1952. He advanced to Entomologist in 1965, and to Professor of Entomology in 1969. Hagen's research career covered some 50 years of service with the University of California. Although he retired in 1990, he continued full-time research and teaching at his laboratory, thus significantly contributing to the prestige of the University and the field of biological control until the day of his death. Hagen's accomplishments in research were widely recognized and respected internationally. He was a world authority in several areas of entomology and biological control. Perhaps his favorite one was the behavior and biology of ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae). His outstanding work, revealing the complex migratory behavior of the convergent ladybird beetle between its overwintering sites in the Sierra Nevada and its feeding and breeding areas in the great Central Valley, stands as a testimony to his knowledge of insect ecology and his skills as a researcher. His research on this important predator of plant aphids led to a beautifully illustrated article in the National Geographic (1970) entitled, ‘The High Flying Ladybug’. His important role and leadership in the area of biological control was further recognized at the 1989 National Meetings of the Entomological Society of America where a symposium entitled ‘Native and Introduced Predaceous Coccinellidae: A Tribute to Kenneth S. Hagen for His Contributions to Coccinellid Biology’ was presented. Hagen's life-long love of insects and deep interest in biological control were apparent in many other accomplishments. He was the leader in projects that resulted in the successful introduction of 25 species of natural enemies that controlled some 17 economically important pest species. In addition, his research in insect nutrition, leading to the mass culture of ladybird beetles, green lacewings, as well as several other predaceous and host insects, was a critical foundation for what is known today in field of insect nutrition. Other areas of research include his pioneering role in developing the strategy of integrated pest management, the biology (nutrition) of fruit flies, and the biosystematics of several beetle families. He was an author on more than 160 publications and received many honors and awards from local, national, and international societies and governments. At the 1997 Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America he will receive posthumously the society's highest award, Fellow of the Entomological Society of America. He was also an outstanding teacher, with a particular love for the history of entomology; a course on this subject was one of the several he taught for many years at Berkeley. As an avid collector of scientific literature, he amassed an excellent library which, typical of his generosity, was available for all to share. Whenever he was at his office/lab he was available to colleagues, students, or any interested passersby. The word was that if you needed information on something about insect biology, ecology, nutrition, identification, or any other entomological subject, it would be to your advantage to contact him first. If he did not have the answer to your query at his fingertips, which was frequently the case, he would find it for you, or he would point you in the right direction. He was a gifted teacher who was just as much at home with a group of kindergartners, explaining the integration of insect life in a garden as he was with visiting scientific delegations expressing his views on insect ecology. Kenneth S. Hagen was a remarkably good person; one we could call an ‘entomologist's entomologist.’ His death leaves a huge vacuum among the biological control scientists and practitioners, as well as in the lives of the many who had the privilege of knowing him. Leopoldo E. Caltagirone Donald L. Dahlsten Richard Garcia

AffiliationU.C. Berkeley (1952-1990 ret.), (BS 1943, MS 1948, PhD 1952)
Label AbbreviationK.S. Hagen
Other NamesK.S. Hagen

     
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