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.
Hall of Fame
The Southern IPM Hall of Fame award recognizes individuals who have contributed to any important aspect of Southern IPM over many years with documented history of career achievements in IPM.
Along with authorship of educational materials, research papers, manuals, books, and presentations of IPM material, Hall of Fame award candidates have greatly impacted IPM in the Southern region over the lifetime of their career.
Tom Royer, Oklahoma State University
Written by Kayla Watson
Tom Royer is a Professor, Extension Entomologist and IPM Coordinator at Oklahoma State University with the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology. Tom has statewide Extension responsibilities for insect management in cereal grains and field crops and has also worked with pest management of aphids and other pests of wheat, sorghum, canola, corn, soybean and rangeland and pasture.
Tom administers IPM Oklahoma!, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension’s Integrated Pest Management program which is funded by USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture. IPM Oklahoma! is currently supporting IPM projects in cotton, wheat, sorghum, soybean, for fly management in livestock, and for anthropophilic pests in public housing.
In 2022, Tom received the Gerrit Cuperus Integrated Pest Management Award for Outstanding IPM Leadership from Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension, and the Lifetime Achievement Award of Recognition at the 10th International IPM Symposium.
Royer is most proud of the development of the Glance-N-Go sequential sampling system for greenbug in winter wheat and for sugarcane aphid in sorghum. This system is the result of collaboration with Dr. Kris Giles and Dr. Norman Elliott. It can save users costly time for scouting their fields and making control decisions. It will continue to evolve, incorporating the presence of natural enemies of these aphids into the decision-making process.
Dr. Royer has had an incredibly impressive career related to IPM in urban, agricultural, and horticultural settings, and has effected change related to IPM locally, nationally, and internationally. His development of the ‘Glance n’ Go’ method for monitoring aphids in small grains has resulted in a cumulative savings of almost $150 million due to a reduction in pesticide applications. Dr. Royer has an extensive publication and presentation history, and has provided service above and beyond for Oklahoma State University as well as the Entomological Society of America.
“I thank my wife, Joleen, an extraordinary elementary teacher who has encouraged me throughout my career. Beyond that, there are simply too many to name, because my success is due, in large part, to the numerous smart, talented and innovative collaborators that I have been privileged to work with over the years.” – Tom Royer
