Louws to direct Center for Integrated Pest Management

Dr. Frank Louws has been named director of the National Science Foundation Center for Integrated Pest Management, based at N.C. State University. Louws, a professor of plant pathology, has been a faculty member at N.C. State since 1996. He earned a doctorate from Michigan State University, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Guelph in Canada.

“Louws has outstanding research and extension records, and he is an accomplished grant recipient with over $4 million in funding as an investigator,” said Dr. David Smith, director of the N.C. Agricultural Research Service, based in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “He has been very active in IPM programs at the national level through service on scientific review panels and participation in numerous committees that support IPM and related agricultural issues.”

The Center for Integrated Pest Management (CIPM) was established in 1991 to serve a lead role in technology development, program implementation, training and public awareness for IPM at the state, regional and national level. The CIPM is an organizational unit within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University.

The center began as part of NSF’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers Program. It is composed of faculty members from all academic departments in the College and involves all relevant disciplines impacting on IPM. The CIPM also involves scientists from other universities across the nation through grants, contracts or other formal working relationships.

“The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has a long and important history in leadership for Integrated Pest Management,” Smith said. “The center is an important part of that history and will be a key component in our continued success in this arena. We welcome Dr. Louws to this new leadership role in our College.”