MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A Mississippi State University forest entomologist recently authored the Integrated Forest Pest Management section of a 246-page report by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology.

Evan Nebeker, a professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, was part of a task force pulled together by CAST to deal with the issue of integrated pest management. The report sets out the scientific, environmental and political contexts in which IPM has developed over the last two decades, as well as the future of IPM. The last such report was released in 1982.

"The goal of integrated pest management is to improve or maintain the health of our forests or commodities of interest," Nebeker explained. "Integrated management involves the use of appropriate technologies in combination to ensure economically efficient management strategies and tactics while minimizing adverse effects on the forest ecosystem."

In addition to his participation in the IPM report, Nebeker was also honored with the 2003 Ralph E. Powe Research Excellence Award. His research areas include Southern pine beetle ecology and management; cottonwood leaf beetle prediction, monitoring and remote sensing; and insect/plant interactions, among others.

The Powe award honors the man who served as MSU's vice president for research from 1986 until his death in 1996. The award is reserved for outstanding, nationally recognized and competitive researchers.

Nebeker joined the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station staff in 1974. He earned a bachelor's degree in zoology-botany at the College of Southern Utah, a master's in entomology-forestry at Utah State University and a doctorate in entomology-ecology at Oregon State University.

Contact: Dr. Evan Nebeker, (662) 325-2984