Dr. Stefan Schmidt (passed away)
Section Hymenoptera
Biographic data
I am employed as curator for Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants, and parasitic wasps) at the Zoologische Staatssammlung München (ZSM, Bavarian State Collection of Zoology). The ZSM is part of the Bavarian Natural History Collections that is one of the largest union of natural history institutions in Germany.
Research interests
My research on hymenopterous insects, mainly microhymenoptera and sawflies, focuses on resolving difficult species complexes and inferring phylogenies using morphological and molecular data and applying innovative techniques. The main direction of my research is explaining biodiversity based on sound theoretical foundations. This often demands a multidisciplinary approach using varied methods. This is supported by an interest in evolutionary aspects, in particular the process of speciation.
Postal address
Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns
Zoologische Staatssammlung
Hymenoptera Section
Muenchhausenstr. 21
81247 Munich, Germany
Countries that I visited
Qualifications
- University of Freiburg, Germany. Diplom-Biologie (1989)
- University of Hamburg, Germany. PhD (1995) – Systematics and ecology of willow feeding sawflies (Hymenoptera, Symphyta, Tenthredinidae)
Appointments
- Research Scientist, Zoological Institute and Zoological Museum, University of Hamburg, Germany (1992-1997)
- Postdoctoral research fellow, Department of Zoology and Entomology (now School of Biological Sciences), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia (funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) (1997-1998)
- Hymenoptera section leader, Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO Entomology (now CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences), Canberra, Australia (1998-2001)
- Research associate, State Museum of Natural History, Stuttgart, Germany (2001-2002)
- Initiation of the German National Focal Point of the Global Taxonomy Initiative in Stuttgart, Germany (2002)
- Since 2003 Hymenoptera section leader at the Zoologische Staatssammlung München