Extension Assistant Professor - Entomology

Title: Extension Assistant Professor
- Entomology

Executive Area: Academic Affairs

College/School/MBU: College of Natural Sciences

Department: Cranberry Station Ext

Work Location: E. Wareham

Schedule:Full Time

Work Arrangement:Onsite

Job Summary

The UMass Cranberry Station is seeking applicants to fill a full-time, non-tenure-track, 12-month appointment as Extension Assistant Professor in Cranberry Entomology located in East Wareham, Massachusetts. Entomology has long been a core component of the research and Extension missions of the UMass Cranberry Station (UMCS), providing science-based solutions to pest management challenges facing the Massachusetts cranberry industry. The successful candidate will build on this strong legacy by establishing an innovative, independent, and externally funded program addressing current and emerging challenges in cranberry insect pest management.

This position offers an exceptional opportunity to integrate fundamental and applied research with impactful Extension programming in partnership with cranberry growers, industry partners, the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association (CCCGA), USDA-ARS researchers, and UMass Amherst colleagues and other institutions. The successful candidate will develop and lead an integrated cranberry insect pest management program, with an anticipated effort distribution of approximately 60% research and 40% Extension.

The program will translate cutting-edge science into practical, economically viable management strategies while addressing emerging threats to the sustainability and resilience of the cranberry industry. Research priorities include insecticide resistance and stewardship, loss of pesticide registrations, emerging and evolving pest complexes, climate-driven shifts in pest abundance and phenology, conservation of beneficial arthropods and pollinators, and development and adoption of sustainable integrated pest management (IPM) strategies.

The successful candidate will establish a collaborative research program that advances the science of cranberry pest management while generating solutions readily translated into grower practice. Working closely with the Extension Educator in Entomology, the candidate will engage growers and industry partners through field-based research, demonstrations, educational programs, and development of science-based decision-support tools and IPM recommendations. This position provides a unique opportunity for a candidate passionate about connecting discovery with application and contributing to agricultural sustainability, environmental stewardship, and the economic viability of the Massachusetts cranberry industry.

The successful candidate will join a highly collaborative research and Extension community at the Cranberry Station, with opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration spanning entomology, plant pathology, horticulture, ecology, environmental science, and agricultural sustainability.

Essential Functions

• Build an applied research program whose outputs translate directly into Extension tools and science-based recommendations for the cranberry industry. Research and Extension should be closely integrated, with research findings translated into practical, grower-focused information and recommendations in collaboration with the Extension Educator and other UMCS personnel.
• Develop and maintain a competitive, externally funded research program addressing the biology, ecology, and management of established, emerging, and invasive cranberry insect pests.
• Evaluate synthetic and reduced-risk insecticides and biopesticides for resistance management and assess their compatibility with biological, behavioral, cultural, and other IPM tactics.
• Investigate non-chemical management tactics (pheromone-based mating disruption, push-pull strategies, attract-and-kill systems, biological control including entomopathogenic nematodes and conservation biological control, and cultural practices) that may contribute to reduced use of insecticides and translate findings into grower-ready recommendations.
• Collaborate with the UMCS faculty in developing and validating economic thresholds and degree-day phenology models, updating tools to reflect climate-driven shifts in pest biology and seasonal timing.
• Assess the susceptibility of new high-yielding cranberry cultivars to insect pests and explore host-plant resistance mechanisms in collaboration with plant breeders.
• Develop and update Extension publications, management guides, and digital…