Kansas Scientist Honored for Work Tracking Pantry Pests

By Erin Peabody
February 9, 2005

National news release

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 — Agricultural Research Service (ARS) entomologist James F. Campbell has been named the agency’s “Northern Plains Area Early Career Research Scientist of 2004” for his groundbreaking research on how insects move in and around facilities that store grain-based goods like cereals, flours and pet foods.

ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific research agency. Its Northern Plains Area comprises Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.

Campbell, who works at the agency’s Grain Marketing and Production Research Center (GMPRC) in Manhattan, Kan., will be honored in a ceremony today at USDA headquarters here. He will receive a plaque, a cash award, and additional research funding.

According to GMPRC Director Donald E. Koeltzow, grain-based food products in processing facilities, warehouses, retail stores and consumer pantries are continually under pressure of becoming infested and degraded by stored-product insects. Managing insect infestations represents a substantial cost for the food industry.

One of Campbell’s most significant research contributions was proposing that stored-product pest populations can interact in food facilities and surrounding landscapes on a much broader scale than was previously thought. He has developed monitoring programs to help facility owners better understand the source of their insect intruders and how to better control them.

As a leading expert in the field of stored-product insect behavior, Campbell has collaborated with companies such as Dow Agrosciences, Heinz Pet Care, Hudson Mills and Nestle Purina Pet Care.

Campbell also serves as an adjunct assistant professor of entomology at Kansas State University in Manhattan.

The “early career” award is given to ARS scientists who have made outstanding scientific contributions, have been with the agency seven years or less, and completed their highest academic degree within the past 10 years.

Campbell lives in Manhattan with his wife Leslie and son Keelan. He earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences from Rutgers University, his master’s degree in entomology from Rutgers University and his doctorate in entomology from the University of California-Davis.