A native of Guayama, Puerto Rico, Pedro Barbosa III is a distinguished entomologist (a scientist who studies insects) who has taught at the University of Maryland since 1979. Born on September 6, 1944, he acquired his bachelor’s degree at the City College of New York in 1966 and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Massachusetts. Upon earning his terminal degree Barbosa taught entomology at Rutgers University from 1971 to 1973, then at the University of Massachusetts from 1973 to 1979.
He has utilized research grants from the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Stations and the National Biological Control Institute, has been a fellow of both the Ford Foundation and the Entomological Society of America, and honored by the Ciba-Geigy Recognition Award, the Science Award from the Institute of Puerto Rico of New York, and the Bussart Memorial Award, among others.
Barbosa’s teaching and research specialties pertain to the biological suppression of plant pests and animal-plant interactions. His books are Ecology of Predator-Prey Interactions (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005); Insect Outbreaks (San Diego: Academic Press, 1987); Introduction to Forest and Shade Tree Insects (San Diego: Academic Press, 1989); Microbial Mediation of Plant-Herbivore Interactions (New York: Wiley, 1991); and Novel Aspects of Insect-Plant Interactions (New York: J. Wiley, 1988). Barbosa is also a past president of the eastern branch of the Entomological Society of America.
