CALS- Technician III- Insect Rearing Technician- Ashley School

Technician III
- Insect Rearing Technician

The Opportunity

As a university founded to be a place where "…any person can find instruction in any study," inclusion and belonging are at the core of our values and mission. We strive to be a welcoming, caring, healthy, and equitable community where students, faculty, and staff with different backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn, innovate, and work in an environment of respect, and feel empowered to engage in any community conversation.

As a member of the Cornell University community, it is important to recognize our shared responsibility to each other to cultivate a culture of inclusion for all. Cornell Core values

As an individual contributor you will model and support a culture of inclusion, belonging, and wellbeing and continually seek to understand how your role, behaviors, and actions impact the success of this culture.

While position responsibilities vary greatly, the Skills for Success and Leadership Skills for Success are foundational to what is expected of every employee and leader working se skills are essential for individual and organizational success. Staff Skills for Success;
Leadership Skills for Success

About the College

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) is a pioneer of purpose-driven science and Cornell University's second largest college. We work across disciplines to tackle the challenges of our time through world-renowned research, education, and outreach. The questions we probe and the answers we seek focus on three overlapping concerns:
We believe that achieving next-generation scientific breakthroughs requires an understanding of the world's complex, interlocking systems. We believe that access to nutritious food and a healthy environment is a fundamental human right. We believe that ensuring a prosperous global future depends on the ability to support local people and communities everywhere. By working in and across multiple scientific areas, CALS can address challenges and opportunities of the greatest relevance, here in New York, across the nation, and around the world.

In the Ashley School of Global Development and the Environment, section of Natural Resources and the Environment, we address social and ecological dimensions of natural resources and the environment to improve environmental sustainability, promote the well-being of communities, and ensure access to sustainable energy and environmental resources.

This position will provide technical support to the New York State Hemlock Initiative (NYSHI). We integrate research, management, and outreach to conserve New York State's hemlock resources in the face of multiple threats, particularly the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA, Adelges tsugae), an invasive insect. Additionally, we help coordinate state-wide efforts of land owners, state and federal agencies, government officials, and concerned citizens to partner in hemlock tree conservation throughout New York.

The position in the Ashley School of Global Development and the Environment, in the section Natural Resources and the Environment will be focused on quarantine rearing of insects for hemlock woolly adelgid biological control research and field releases. These predators, one species of beetle and two species of flies, are approved for use as HWA biological control agents in the United States.

Procedures are designed to contain all other western species and are approved and overseen by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, division of Plant Protection and Quarantine (APHIS-PPQ).

The Technician III will manage NYSHI's laboratory and greenhouse spaces at the quarantine facility; follow established protocols to collect and maintain biocontrol insects, train Cornell staff on quarantine regulations, safety, and procedures; organize records for Federal inspections of quarantine; assist in developing reports and training materials; participate in outreach; and supervise assistants. The specific duties have seasonal variation as described below.

January-July:

* Take full responsibility for the insect rearing operation in the quarantine greenhouse including: setup/takedown of…