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My Background
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I went to the University of Michigan, where I received a degree in Biology in 1983. I spent two summers working with John Vandermeer's agroecology group doing research on intecropping at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. That experience stimulated my interest in agriculture and opened up my eyes to the complicated relationship between agriculture and the environment. I took a class in forest entomology taught by John Vitter in the School of Natural Resources, which piqued my interest in the study of insects. At that time, society was emerging from the Rachel Carson era, which had raised serious concerns about the effects of pesticides on human health and the environment. There was a great deal of enthusiasm for seeking alternatives to control of insect pests in agriculture and I was swept up by this enthusiasm.