Dr. Jeffery K. Tomberlin is a decomposition ecologist with an emphasis on behavior. His research efforts focus on deciphering the mechanisms resulting in recycling of organic matter with applications in forensics and sustainable agriculture. Tomberlin was born Nov. 12, 1971, in Norfolk, Virginia, the son of a military family. He grew up in Ocilla, Georgia, where he was highly influenced by family, especially his grandmother, Laura Tomberlin. Her many stories regarding her youth during the Great Depression in the 1930s, raising a house full of children, and being a farmer's wife in a small town planted the seeds that germinated into Tomberlin's career philosophy as a decomposition ecologist that emphasized bridging basic research with applied outcomes in, but not limited to, sustainability and forensics. Tomberlin earned his B.S. in biology and Ph.D. in entomology at the University of Georgia, while his M.S. in entomology was attained at Clemson University. He completed a postdoctoral position with Drs. Joe Lewis and Glen Rains before accepting an extension research position with the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University in Stephenville, Texas. A few years after arriving in Stephenville, he accepted a tenure track position with the department in College Station, Texas, where he and his wife, Laura, live with their children, Celeste and Jonah.
To date, he has published more than 200 refereed journal articles with more than 14,000 citations and has been an author on over 700 platform and poster presentations. His lab is truly global as he has had 36 visiting scholars from around the world, while at the same time he has visited more than 27 nations. He has also chaired or co-chaired 20 Ph.D. and 20 M.S. students, while serving on an additional 38 graduate student committees. Through all his efforts, Tomberlin was recognized as an AgriLife Research Fellow in 2016. In 2019, Tomberlin was recognized as a Presidential Impact Fellow at Texas A&M University, while also receiving the Pathology/Biology Section Award from the American Academy of Sciences for achievement in the forensic sciences.
Climate change is a global concern. Tomberlin's research with the black soldier fly as a means to recycle waste to produce protein (i.e., feed for livestock, poultry, and aquaculture) has led to this species being approved by governments for such purposes globally. Because of such uses, his work has served as the cornerstone of the insects as feed industry where the black soldier fly is now considered the "crown jewel." He also co-led an effort to establish the NSF-IUCRC for Environmental Sustainability Through Insect Farming in 2021, of which he is the director.
Tomberlin is also very active with the forensic sciences and has assisted with more than 180 investigations globally. His efforts in forensic entomology led to the establishment of a national organization, the North American Forensic Entomology Association, which has been in operation since 2006, as well as an NSF-IUCRC for Advanced Research in Forensic Science, of which he was an affiliate site director. His efforts primarily focus on determining factors regulating insect attraction and colonization of decomposing remains.