Throughout its history of more than 100 years,
the Department of Entomology has forged partnerships with many
public
and private
organizations. Current faculty, staff, and students engage in
collaborative research projects in Maryland, other states, and
foreign countries. These linkages present special opportunities
for pursuing interests
in diverse settings and focus areas.
The interdepartmental degree-granting programs on campus, as
described in the Graduate section, offer graduate students special opportunities to participate
in interdisciplinary research.
The Department currently collaborates in the following interdisciplinary
graduate
programs:
Entomology
students participating in these programs are housed in the Department
of Entomology and their major advisors are on the Entomology faculty.
They may
conduct their
research in a number of different settings, often in collaboration
with different disciplines. The Maryland Center for Systematic Entomology is a consortium for research and graduate training
in the systematics and evolution of insects and other terrestrial
arthropods. It
combines the resources of our
University with the world's largest community of arthropod systematists
and its associated collections and facilities.
The Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station has nine Research and Education Centers in the state where field and laboratory work is carried
out on urban and agricultural insects---often collaboratively with different
disciplines.
The Maryland Center for Agroecology, Inc., an affiliate of the University of Maryland, offers additional opportunities
for in-state research on agricultural pest problems. The Department has
well-established
research collaboration with the Maryland Department of Agriculture. Many faculty, staff, and students
have collaborated with the agency on pest and pesticide management projects.
The Center for Biosystems Research,
located in the same building as Entomology, offers great opportunities for
collaborative research in biotechnology. The Center is developing new tools
in biotechnology
for increasing crop yields, enhancing human and animal health, modifying
microorganisms for waste management, etc. In addition, the Center is heavily
involved in phylogenomics
research aimed at better understanding evolutionary relationships in arthropods.
Entomology faculty and graduate students are partners in the Center’s
phylogenomics research program.
The University of Maryland’s strategic
location in the Washington, DC area provides special opportunities
for collaboration with well-known national agencies such as the Smithsonian Institution, USDA-ARS, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, National Institutions of Health, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center,
and National Park Service.
In addition, the USDA's National Agriculture Library at Beltsville
is only four miles from the campus, and the Library of Congress is in nearby Washington, D.C.
In addition to the public sector collaborators,
the Department has numerous collaborators in the private sector.
Examples include the different crop associations, nursery and
landscape industries, turf industries, agribusinesses, and urban
pest management businesses.
Not all of the collaborative research is restricted
to the state and national boundaries. The faculty, staff, and
students also participate in a range of international projects
as described in the different Focus Areas.
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