I am motivated by two big questions: How do we feed people without sanitizing the biosphere? Why do some things become major pests while others do not? I am in awe of the creatures living in environments around me, deeply value connection with people and the diversity of their life experiences, and am committed to persevering when things get tough. I desire to do research that is novel and fundamentally interesting, while also providing practical solutions to insect issues affecting the farms in my region.
The Agricultural Entomology Lab at University of Delaware is committed to understanding the ecology and evolution of insects in agricultural landscapes in a changing world. Projects merge classical field experiments, genomics, and ecoinformatics to elucidate insect movements in agricultural landscapes, mechanisms underlying insect adaptation to management practices, and consequences of environmental change for insects. Concurrently, we strive for excellence in communication and translation of research findings into actionable outcomes for industry stakeholders, aiming to develop and refine innovative pest management strategies that benefit growers, the environment, and society.
Emerging research areas that I would like to co-develop with students and postdocs include but are not limited to: insects as waste upcyclers, precision pest management, management of lesser mealworm in poultry systems, management of slugs in reduced-till corn and soybean, management of phorid flies in mushrooms, and changing pest pressure in response to environmental change.
Black soldier flies are amazing decomposers that have great potential to upcycle wastes, recapturing lost nutrients to be inserted back into the food chain as fertilizer for primary producers or as feed for higher trophic levels. Waste upcycling with lesser mealworm and black soldier fly is just beginning to get up and off the ground in the Agricultural Entomology Lab!
