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Education:
May, 2002 Ph.D. (Major: Entomology; Minor: Statistics), Louisiana
State University, USA;
July, 1985 M.S. (Entomology), Nanjing Agricultural University,
P. R. China;
July, 1982 B.S. (Plant Protection), Nanjing Agricultural University,
P. R. China.
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Current Research Interests and Responsibilities:
Why is the termite a problem?
The Formosan subterranean termite (FST), Coptotermes formosanus
Shiraki, has been a serious pest in China and Japan for centuries
where it was restricted to areas around its native home, which
is thought to be southern China. It moved into some of the Pacific
islands in the late 19th century and in the last 50 years has
expanded its distribution into the Southern United States. In
the continental United States, populations have been found in
Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi,
South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. In recent
years, Mississippi has seen a significant expansion in the number
of areas infested with FST. The problem has grown from a few
isolated infestations in the 1990's to 25 counties being formally
designated as infested in 2004 by the Mississippi Department
of Agriculture and Commerce. Termites have a great economic impact
on wood used in and around buildings, from houses to living trees.
They also do considerable damage to wood used as utility poles,
fence posts, or similar products. A mature colony of C. formosanus
can cause a tremendous amount of damage in a short time. Unprotected
homes newly built over strong colonies have been almost destroyed
in two years. The damage to wood structures by this termite is
significant and can exceed $2 billion annually. Despite this
clear cause for concern, it was not until the early 1990's that
the public finally realized there was a serious termite problem.
What we will do?
In 1998, Congressman Bob Livingston, chairman of the House
Appropriations Committee, secured $5,000,000 in federal funding
to curb the destruction by this exotic pest. The USDA Agricultural
Research Service in New Orleans was assigned this mission (and
funding) and presently employs more than 15 full time researchers
to specifically address the FST problem. Urban entomologists
with termite expertise from Hawaii, Florida, Georgia, Texas,
Louisiana, and Mississippi are involved in this federal research
project. Based on this federal research funding, Mississippi
State University/Coastal Research and Extension Center created
a full time faculty position to provide leadership in Mississippi
in the battle with this destructive termite.
Major research
I will develop research programs dealing with the control
of structural pests particularly the for Formosan subterranean
termite. Research will consider all facets of biology, physiology,
and control of FST in urban, national park, and forest areas.
The primary research strategies are based upon using integrated
pest management (IPM) with environmentally friendly measures
to prevent the spread of this serious invasive pest species in
Mississippi.
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