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Curriculum vitae

Education

B.A., 1980, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; M.S., 2003, University of California, Davis.

Current Employment

Taxonomist, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Center for Plant Health Science and Technology, 2002 – present.

Area of Specialty / Responsibility

Development of computer-based matrix-type identification (Lucid) tools, technical support, training.

Published Lucid Tools

Julia is the author and co-author of several online and compact-disc based Lucid tools published by CPHST. A "Lucid tool" is a Lucid matrix key, to which are attached numerous fact sheets and images and which is accompanied by additional informational html pages. The items in the list of Lucid tools below are each linked to a “key details” page within the Lucid website. Each key details page includes a brief description, contact and other information. At the bottom of each key details page is the category “Site for key download,” next to which is a clickable URL link taking users most often to the tool’s home page.

Federal Noxious Weed Disseminules of the U.S - author

Cut Flower Exports of Africa - author

Aquarium and Pond Plants of the World, Edition 2.0 - co-author

Invasive Mite Identification - technical support (major HTML and Lucid support to facilitate publication)

Scale Insects - technical support

Tools in Development

As co-author

• “Wood Boring Beetles of the World: Families, and Genera of Bostrichidae and Buprestidae.” These three tools of worldwide scope are being developed collaboratively by CDFA coleopterists Drs. Chuck Bellamy and Andy Cline, Dr. Mike Ivie (Montana State University), Amanda Evans (Ph.D. candidate, Harvard University), and Julia Scher.
• "Dried Botanicals." Dr. Art Tucker, of Delaware State University, has collected samples of over two hundred species used as dried botanical ingredients for potpourri and other decorative items. These ingredients may be hosts for pests, or may themselves be prohibited. Julia will be working closely with Dr. Tucker to complete Part 1 of this Dried Botanicals tool.

Providing technical support

• “Wheat Pest Diagnostic Key.” An interactive, commodity-based key for diagnosing problems associated with the production of wheat in North America, such as bacteria, chemicals, environmental damage, insects, nutrient deficiencies, etc. This tool is a collaborative effort among Colorado State University, Montana State University, USDA-CSREES, and CPHST.
• "Common Grasshopppers of the Western U.S., Edition 2." The first edition of this tool, produced by CPHST, was released online in 2004. Mathew Brust, a graduate student in entomology at the University of Nebraska, has now updated the tool, adding 11 new grasshoppers. The revised Edition 2 is now in beta review.

ID Source Database

ID Source is an online database being developed in response to the recent worldwide proliferation of electronic identification tools that are available online or on CD. ID Source locates and collects, as comprehensively as possible, data about all such tools, but specifically those that are relevant for plant protection and quarantine, and makes this data freely accessible, so that users can easily discover electronic identification resources that meet their needs, and how to access them. Julia consults on database web design and will be the webmaster for Html content. ID Source is a collaborative effort among North Carolina State University, University of Queensland, and CPHST. Online release of the first phase of ID Source is targeted for 2008.

Lucid Training Workshops

During the spring and summer of 2007, Julia and Terrence Walters (CPHST Identification Technology team) conducted 10 four-hour workshops entitled "Making the Most out of Lucid Identification Tools," in six different locations across the U.S., for domestic and port identifiers, SITC personnel, and cooperators in academia. These workshops gave participants instruction and hands-on practice in the use of Lucid keys for their identification responsibilities.

• Florida A&M University, Tallahassee (May 9)
• Los Angeles Plant Inspection Station (May 23-24)
• University of Florida, Gainesville (May 26)
• Miami Plant Inspection Station (May 28) Seattle Plant Inspection Station (July 17)
• JFK Plant Inspection Station, Jamaica, NY (September 12-13)

Presentations

• 2007 Identification Tools and Beyond for PPQ. Office of the Director, CPHST, Raleigh, NC.
• 2007 Building Matrix Keys using Lucid. University of Georgia, PEET (Partnerships for Enhancing Expertise in Taxonomy) VI. Athens, GA.
• 2006 Introduction to Lucid keys. WPDN UC-Davis Regional Center. Insect Identification Workshop: Homoptera. Davis, CA.
• 2005 Demonstration of Lucid keys for CAPS surveys. Western Region CAPS meeting. Ft. Collins, CO.
• 2005 Building Interactive keys using Lucid. CDFA PPDC seminar series. Sacramento, CA.
• 2004 New identification tool for federal noxious weed seeds: A Lucid computer-based multi-access key and image database. California Seed Industry Conference, Woodland, CA.
• 2004 Lucid keys for FNW, Aquarium and Pond Plants, and Legumes; demonstration and hands-on workshop. PPQ National Identifiers Meeting. Beltsville, MD.
• 2004 Lucid key: Federal Noxious Weed Disseminules of the U.S. Office of the Director, CPHST, Raleigh, NC.