Penn State Entomology Graduate Student "Worth Watching"

Online, October 12, 2009 (Newswire.com) - A student in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences was recently featured in a national trade magazine after receiving the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) Minorities in Pest Management scholarship.

Alexis Barbarin, a Ph.D candidate in the college's entomology department, was featured in the June issue of Pest Management Professional as a pest management professional "Worth Watching" in the industry. Pest Management Professional is a trade publication geared toward the pest control specialist designed to educate them in pest detection and identification, treatment, and control methods. The magazine became aware of Barbarin and her research after she won the NPMA scholarship, which benefits minority students studying urban pest management, entomology, or related fields and who plan to enter the pest management industry.

Barbarin's research focuses on bed bugs and their recent resurgence in urban areas. A native of New Orleans, Barbarin knew she wanted to do research on a pest whose control would help urban residents. "I stumbled upon bed bugs after realizing there hadn't been much dedicated research conducted since the 1950's," she explained. Her goals include developing an urban integrated pest management curriculum for urban youth; developing a standard bed bug feeding protocol utilizing alternative blood sources; and identifying environmental cues that alert bed bugs to the presence of a host.

Barbarin chose Penn State due to its diverse faculty and research areas. "When I visited Penn State during a recruiting weekend, I got the impression the entomology department is very close knit, almost like it was one big family," Barbarin said. "I felt very welcomed by both the faculty and the graduate students."

Barbarin's future plans include teaching general biology, ecology, and entomology at a small university or college or becoming an extension educator at a land grant institution. To accomplish her goals she is simultaneously pursuing a Masters of Extension Education in addition to an entomology Ph.D. Her advisor, Dr. Ed Rajotte, notes that the entomology department tries to accommodate student goals by tailoring graduate education. Double degrees and dual degrees are becoming more common as students strive for credentials that will set them apart in the job market.