Assistant Professor
Field Crops Entomology

The Department of Entomology at Purdue University invites outstanding candidates in the field of insect pest management and ecology to apply for a 12-month, tenure-track, extension/applied research faculty position. 

POSITION: Assistant Professor (Fiscal year Extension position, academic year tenure appointment)

RESPONSIBILITIES: The successful candidate will be expected to provide leadership in the development and implementation of innovative, Extension integrated pest management programs for economically important arthropods affecting field crops. The individual is expected to be an active member of an interdisciplinary team with specialists from throughout the College of Agriculture. The person will be expected to establish and maintain an innovative, relevant and externally funded research program. Participation in the department’s teaching program is also expected.

AVAILABILITY: Summer, 2008

QUALIFICATIONS: PhD in entomology

SALARY: Commensurate with background and experience. Excellent fringe benefit package that includes generous employer contributions to TIAA-CREF retirement program, medical, life and disability insurance, and sabbatical leave opportunities.

APPLICATION: Applications will be accepted until April 15 or until a suitable candidate is found. Submit a letter of application, a CV, transcripts, a statement of Extension and research goals, and the names, addresses, telephone numbers and electronic mail addresses of five references to:

Rick Foster, Search Chair
Department of Entomology
901 W. State St
Smith Hall
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2089
tel/fax: (765) 494-9572/2152
email: rfoster@purdue.edu

Field Crops Entomology

The College of Agriculture has historically taken the lead in the development and adoption of new technologies for the production of field crops (corn, soybean, small grains and forages) in Indiana.  There has been an emphasis, especially in recent years, on a systems approach to enhancing sustainable field crop production.  Indiana field crop producers have benefited from Purdue-generated technology improvements in areas such as conservation tillage, efficient nutrient management, crop varieties and integrated approaches to pest management.  Field crops entomology has been an essential component of this effort in Indiana and the region for over 50 years, and although challenges have changed substantially in recent years, the need is still great. 

Management of insect pests is an important component of the overall economic production of field crops in Indiana.  Field crops in the Midwest are attacked by a wide diversity of insect pests that have shown a remarkable ability to adapt to various management strategies.  As an example, the western corn rootworm, the most important Midwest corn insect pest, in recent years has undergone a change in behavior that eliminates crop rotation as an effective management technique.  This change in behavior has caused Indiana producers to treat an additional 2.2 million acres of corn annually with insecticides, with a cost of over $37 million.  Emerging control tactics, such as the widespread adoption of transgenic crops, including stacked genes for multiple insect control traits provide new opportunities for insect management, but also result in new challenges for producers to determine appropriate use and preservation of these new technologies. Concerns regarding resistance to this burgeoning technology are ranked highly by producers and the biotechnology industry alike.

To remain a leader in the development and adoption of new field crop production technologies, Purdue University needs to identify those factors that will have a major influence on field crop agriculture in the immediate future.  Some of these factors include:

• The surge in demand for ethanol and biodiesel has increased the planting of both continuous corn and continuous soybeans, depending on proximity to refineries and marketing plans. The resulting lack of crop rotation has important implications for the insect pest problems that growers will face.
• Field crops in Indiana continue to be attacked by new, invasive species. In recent years, new pests such as the soybean aphid, the western bean cutworm, and Asiatic garden beetle have all become established in Indiana.
• Biotechnology has created new approaches to insect pest management (e.g. Bt corn for European corn borers and corn rootworms, and now, stacked genes for multiple production constraints). The rapid adoption of these technologies brings with it the possible development of resistance to these traits.

Field crops Extension programs will need to adopt a systems approach to sustainable production in the future to be relevant and successful.  Entomology input will be absolutely necessary as part of this systems approach if 21st century solutions are to be developed for these 21st century problems.  Some of the new opportunities are likely to include:

• Advances in biotechnology that enhance the production of traditional or new field crops for specific industrial purposes, such as the more efficient production of biofuels.
• An increase in the number and/or diversity of modes of action of insecticidal compounds produced by transgenic crops.
• Working with specialists monitoring invasive species, both at Purdue and elsewhere, to monitor potentially damaging species, and to identify and manage problem species as they arrive.
• Characterizing and better managing the interface between field crop agriculture and the environment. The public is increasingly concerned about the potential for contamination of surface and ground water supplies by fertilizers, manure, or pesticide runoff and leaching, the development of herbicide resistant weeds, the spread of invasive pests, and the consequences of pollen drift from transgenic to non-transgenic cornfields.

There are both public and private opportunities to secure support for field crops entomology.  In the public sector, the application of biotechnology, development of traditional IPM programs, and more novel bio-based and sustainable production practices are supported by a variety of USDA programs.  There are also funding opportunities for more basic research from NSF.  In the private sector, seed companies, ag chemical and biotechnology companies, and commodity groups provide targeted support for current questions and problems in field crops production.

The role Purdue Agriculture plays as an unbiased information source is critical for maintaining honesty and integrity within the agricultural industry.  There are several high-visibility educational programs and curricula developed by field crops faculty and staff that are implemented through a variety of outlets, including the Crop Diagnostic Training and Research Center, Integrated Pest Management Program, Plant & Pest Diagnostic Laboratory, Purdue Pesticide Programs, Site-Specific Management Center, Cooperative Extension Service Teams and the Office of the Indiana State Chemist. All of these require an integral entomology component and the long-range commitment of faculty, staff, and operational support from Purdue University.

The demand for field crops entomology research and extension, and the education and training of future practitioners has never been greater.  A new faculty recruit would be expected to develop a nationally recognized Extension and applied research program working closely with the inter-disciplinary field crops team, and with colleagues in the department and elsewhere as needed to get the job done. The successful candidate would be expected to develop a robust graduate training program to help supply the next generation of practical specialists needed by industry, government and academia. The expertise provided by this position is critical to meet the needs of field crops Extension, and essential to guarantee the comprehensive Extension programs the producers in Indiana and the region have come to expect from Purdue University. 

Purdue University is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action employer.