Dr. Robert N. Coulson has been a participating member of the Entomological Society of America since 1968. He has served the Texas A&M University system since 1970. He was initially employed as principal entomologist with the Texas Forest Service and as assistant professor with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. In 1973, he received an academic appointment with the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University, worked through the professorial ranks, and today holds the title of professor.
Dr. Coulson’s research has been transdisciplinary in approach, directed to investigations of the activities and impacts of insects and other taxa in forest, prairie, savanna, and agricultural landscapes. The research addresses issues of significance to entomology, ecology, and land-use management.
In 1984, he co-founded the Knowledge Engineering Laboratory (KEL; http://kelab.tamu.edu) to facilitate research and development of computer applications for planning, problem-solving, and decision making in environmental science and management. The focus of KEL research has been directed to landscape-scale problems that require integration, interpretation, and use of different representations of knowledge. Special emphasis has been placed on ways and means of blending qualitative, heuristic knowledge of experts with quantitative information that results from scientific investigations. Most of the projects in KEL have had an entomological underpinning, e.g., integrated pest management of the southern pine beetle, landscape ecology of feral Africanized honey bees, risk-rating post-oak savanna landscapes for fire ants, etc.
(updated September, 2008)