Department of Entomology - Overview
Kansas State University was founded in 1863, as the first officially funded and established land grant institution in the United States. The 'founding' of entomology at Kansas State University traces its history to 1866, when Benjamin Franklin Mudge taught the first course on insect pests of crops, entitled "Insects Injurious to Vegetation". In 1879, Edwin A. Popenoe became the first professor of entomology, and the department was permanently established in 1913 with George Dean as the first department head. Known as the home of host plant resistance, thanks to the arrival of Reginald Painter in 1927 and his subsequent pioneering work, the department offers unique opportunities for the graduate and undergraduate student alike. You can find more on the history of our department in this History of Entomology in Kansas prior to 1938 and in this history of the K-State Department of Entomology from 1879-1990. Our current research programs run from applied to molecular, utilizing state of the art research facilities. Classrooms and teaching laboratories have been renovated and utilize multimedia tools. Facilities include 22 greenhouses of various sizes, bioclimatic chambers, and rearing rooms.
Field research is conducted on experimental farms at Manhattan and at branch experiment stations throughout the state. Cooperative research programs exist with the KSU Departments of Animal Science and Industry; Agronomy; Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics; Grain Science and Industry; Plant Pathology; Horticulture, Forestry and Recreational Resources; the Wheat Genetics Resource Center; the College of Veterinary Medicine; the Center for Grain and Animal Health Research (CGAHR) , the Ecological Genomics Institute and other U.S. and international organizations.
The department offers excellent outreach opportunities through its award winning and unique Insect Zoo, located in the Kansas State University Gardens.
Our Vision: "Entomological Knowledge for Life"
Our Mission:
- Provide entomological knowledge for a safe, sustainable, and competitive food, feed, and fiber system through integrated research and education,
- Maintain a stakeholder/clientele driven focus to research, extension, and teaching activities,
- Generate fundamental information for the advancement of science and for applied uses,
- Train students for professions in education, government, business and industry, and
- Disseminate useful, unbiased information
