Friends of IPM Awards
The mission of the Southern IPM Center is to champion the development and adoption of integrated pest management (IPM), the science of managing pests while protecting people, the environment and economy. Each Regional Center engages broadly with stakeholders to identify and address regional pest priorities in agriculture, communities and natural areas.
Since 2003, the Southern IPM Center (SIPMC) has worked with USDA, Land Grant universities, Extension, and many other partners in promoting and facilitating the development and implementation of IPM in many settings across the region.
Many of these partners have contributed to the region’s well-being for years or even decades.
The Bright Idea Award, 2026
The Bright Idea award recognizes an invention, innovation, or ‘start-up’ that significantly improves or has the potential to improve IPM research, education, communication, or implementation in the field.
The 2026 Bright Idea award recognizes Dr. Lindsay Campbell from the University of Florida for her work on addressing a major challenge in integrated mosquito management: the difficulty of identifying cryptic mosquito breeding habitats.
“Accessible 3D: LiDAR Data: A Tool for Precision Mosquito Control”
The project, “Accessible 3D: LiDAR Data: A Tool for Precision Mosquito Control,” is an online dashboard that provides a pathway to bringing precision mosquito control into practice by making high-resolution 3D LiDAR terrain data accessible and actionable for integrated mosquito management in Florida and the southern region. The online dashboard supplies high-resolution digital terrain models (DTMs) and hydrological index data that users can download in a common file format and use in geographic information systems (GIS) programs to help target abatement and control activities.
The dashboard leverages open-source 3D LiDAR data available through the Florida Geospatial Data Portal and the U.S. Geological Survey, providing mosquito control districts with a tool to pinpoint breeding habitats and deliver insecticide applications with unprecedented accuracy.
Because of the LiDAR dashboard, mosquito management personnel can now identify microtopographic depressions and water-collecting areas that drive mosquito production, enabling them to design abatement strategies with unprecedented precision, particularly in mangrove habitats and highly vegetated areas. Historically, these areas have been difficult to access and map fine-scale topographical changes to identify where mosquito larvae are most abundant. As a result, programs often use a “blanket” approach to larvicide applications, resulting in unprecedented pesticide use.
The dashboard’s basic elevation and hydrological index data show where water is likely to collect across an area. As a result, the hydrological data can be used to identify poor drainage points in irrifated fields. By mapping hydrological features that sustain mosquito breeding, control programs can focus larvicide applications on priority areas rather than spraying insecticides indiscriminately across broad areas and environments.
Greater precision in identifying priority areas using high-resolution DTMs and hydrological index data can substantially reduce chemical inputs to the environment, while continuing to protect human and animal health.
So far, the LiDAR dashboard has been accessed more than 800 times, with views increasing by 42% following its introduction at the 2024 Florida Mosquito Control Association Annual Meeting. In addition, webinars and training modules ensure that users understand how to use the dashboard effectively in pest management decision-making.
Through streamlined processing, open-source data, and a public-facing dashboard with step-by-step tutorials, Dr. Campbell’s tool removes barriers that have prohibited the adoption of LiDAR data in integrated mosquito management. This “bright idea” has the potential to transform an underutilized geospatial technology into a practical, integrated mosquito management tool, reducing costs, increasing efficiency, and minimizing environmental impacts.