John T. Trumble, ESA Fellow (1998)

Dr. John T. Trumble, distinguished professor of entomology at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), was elected as Fellow in 1998. Renowned for his development of IPM programs in California and abroad, he is also heavily involved in research assessing the effects of water and air pollution on insects and how global climate change and pollution can affect world food supplies.

After spending his summers throughout high school working on barges and tugboats for the U.S. Merchant Marine, Dr. Trumble attended the University of Delaware and graduated with a B.S. in entomology and applied ecology in 1974. He then spent a year working as a technician at Virginia Tech before enrolling as a graduate student with Dr. L.T. Kok. He earned an M.S. in 1977 and completed his Ph.D. in 1980, both in entomology. Dr. Trumble has been a member of the faculty at UCR since then, and was promoted to full professor in 1990. In 2011 the University of California awarded him the title Distinguished Professor.

Dr. Trumble leads a dynamic lab making major contributions to several disciplines including IPM, chemical ecology, and insect-plant interactions. In 1993 he was awarded ESA’s Bussart Award for Excellence in Integrated Pest Management for his work. The IPM programs he developed have significantly reduced the amount of pesticides used by vegetable growers. In 2003 he earned the ESA's Research Recognition Award, in part, for development of an internationally important tomato IPM program employing compounds that provided better economic returns for growers while greatly improving worker health and safety. His current agricultural research focuses on invasive pests and global warming, and is funded by multiple USDA programs, commodity groups, and foundations.

Dr. Trumble is also well known for his work on the effects of pollution on plants and insects. His lab is currently tracking selenium movement through several systems, such as its accumulation in nectar and subsequent ingestion by honey bees, Apis mellifera L., and an evaluation of the role of perchlorate and arsenic at the bottom of food webs. The U.S. EPA and NSF support these projects. He continues to contribute to a long-term climate change project, where he has been assessing the effects of elevated CO2 on plants and insect development since the 1980s.

His combined work in agriculture and pollution effects were major reasons for his being named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2004. Among his many accomplishments, he was president of the ESA Pacific Branch in 1994 and has been editor-in-chief of the Journal of Economic Entomology since 2001. Under his leadership, this journal has become the most cited entomology journal globally. Members of his lab have received positions in industry, federal and state governments, and universities all over the world. His students have won many accolades, including two ESA Comstock Awards. John is married to Mary Lou and has three great kids and a really nice dog.

(updated August, 2011)