Texas A&M Plans New Urban Entomology Facility

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — A new facility for the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University, to be named the Center for Urban and Structural Entomology, will begin construction soon. This 11,000-square-foot facility will ensure that the university remains a strong participant in the discovery, development and implementation of research to control insects in and around homes and other structures.

The new university department will pair up with the Endowed Chair for Urban and Structural Entomology to conduct Texas A&M AgriLife Research with the university. The partnership will provide research and teaching opportunities as well as Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service programs.

There are several goals of the new center, such as garnering student interest and supporting student and faculty research, teaching and outreach programs. The new state-of-the-art facility will provide the ideal location for students and faculty to engage in research and promote issues of urban entomology to the public. The facility will provide a place for undergraduate and graduate students to learn about urban entomology as well.

Another major goal of the center will be to develop and introduce sustainable technology that will protect various urban structures from invasions of organisms that destroy wood. The center will address issues related to insect population management linked to harvesting, storing, processing and transporting food products. It will also address environmental risks and health risks associated with various insects that are potential carriers of diseases that affect humans and animals.

The new Center for Urban and Structural Entomology will focus on researching and developing new ways of approaching and managing insect populations to counteract their negative impact on urban environments.

The spacious facility will include office space for the endowed chair, principal investigators, research assistants, graduate students and the correspondence course coordinator. Individual laboratories for colonies of ants, termites and cockroaches will be constructed, as well as an insectary for general insect colonies, including bed bugs and stored product insects.

As of press time no architect has been chosen for the final designs. A pledged gift from the O. Wayne Rollins Foundation is funding part of the $4 million project.