Lawrence Michael Hanks (born January 26, 1953) is an American entomologist and Professor in the Department of Entomology at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

Education and career

Hanks received his B.S. from the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

in 1978, his M.S. from the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12 ...

in 1982, and his Ph.D. from the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

in 1991. His Ph.D. supervisor was Robert Denno. As a graduate student, he became curious as to why trees in woodland settings were almost free of a pest that was infecting numerous trees in urban landscapes. He subsequently published a study on the subject with Clifford Sadof of

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...

, which indicated that woodlands contained natural organisms that preyed on the tree pests. He completed his post doctorate at the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

, where he studied ways to combat the effects of a pest borer beetle on eucalyptus trees. He joined the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's faculty in 1996 as an assistant professor, and became an associate professor there in 2003 and a full professor in 2008.

Personal life

He is the eldest brother of actors

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

and

Jim Hanks James Mefford Hanks (born June 15, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has played numerous minor roles in film and guest appearances on television, and often does voice substitution work for his older brother Tom Hanks (most notably Sheri ...

.He discusses his brother beginning at 3:00

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanks, Lawrence Michael Tom Hanks Living people 1953 births American entomologists University of California, Davis alumni University of California, Riverside alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty University of Maryland, College Park alumni University of Nevada, Reno alumni