About 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.This lab is brand new (started in Fall of 2021), and I am eager to form a diverse and interdisciplinary group of motivated, curious, and community-minded individuals in my lab.
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.
The Agricultural Entomology Lab at UD is seeking a graduate research assistant (MS or PhD) who is enthusiastic about applying data science and ecoinformatics approaches to understand insect responses to environmental change.
The lab has been accumulating moderately large datasets tracking pest and beneficial insect activity in regional monitoring networks that span several years, and is ready for someone to mine them for answers to basic and applied questions.
Qualified MS applicants should have some familiarity with R and a strong interest in developing their quantitative skills. Qualified PhD applicants must have a MS degree, proficiency coding in R, and a strong interest in mastery of ecoinformatics approaches.
Start date is flexible, but would ideally be Spring 2024. RA stipends start at $31K and increase by 3% annually.
To apply: Interested applicants should email Mike Crossley (crossley@udel.edu) their CV, contact information for references, and a brief statement of past experience, career goals, and their specific interest in the lab. Last Date to Apply 10/31/2023