Richard W. Merritt, Ph.D.
Professor of Entomology, Michigan State University
Dr. Richard W. Merritt is Professor and past Chair of the Entomology Department at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. He also directs undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral associates and research associates in the Aquatic Entomology Lab at Michigan State University-better known as the Merritt Lab-- in their research of the ecology of aquatic insects.
A native Californian, Dr. Merritt received his bachelor's degree in biology from California State University at San Jose in l968 and his master's degree in entomology from Washington State University in l970. He returned to California where he received his Ph.D. in medical entomology and parasitology from the University of California, Berkeley in l974.
Dr. Merritt was a participant in the Organization for Tropical Studies Program in Costa Rica in 1970, and was a faculty participant in a course entitled "Ecology of the Amazon" in Colombia and Brazil in l973. He served in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) graduate research traineeship in the Department of Entomology at the University of California, Berkeley from 1970 to 1974. Subsequent to that he was Assistant Research Entomologist, Department of Entomology, University of California, Berkeley. From 1974 to 1978, Dr. Merritt was Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, and from 1978 to 1984, he was Associate Professor. He was promoted to Full Professor at Michigan State University in l984, and chaired the Department of Entomology from 2002 to 2008.
Dr. Merritt is also involved in the field of forensic entomology and assists police departments with crime scene investigations involving insects. He has more than 20 years of experience in this field and has been Chairman of the American Board of Forensic Entomology. He is currently a Fellow in the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
Dr. Merritt's major research interests focus on the feeding ecology, animal microbial interactions, population dynamics and influence of environmental factors on immature aquatic insects, especially the Diptera. His most recent research has concentrated on the ecology of the Buruli ulcer in Africa studying insects as a potential reservoir, and biomonitoring streams and rivers for the effects of pollutants on aquatic ecosystems.
His awards and honors include: the Michigan State University CNS Distinguished Faculty Award in 2004, the Michigan State University CANR Alumni Distinguished Faculty Award in 2006, and the Michigan State University Distinguished Faculty Award in 2004. He received the Entomological Society of America's North Central Branch (ESA NCB) Distinguished Teaching Award in 1998, and the ESA NCB C.V. Riley Award in 2008. Dr. Merritt received a Fulbright Scholar Award in l986 and spent a sabbatical in London where he was made an Honorary Research Fellow at University College, London. He was appointed to the World Health Organization (WHO) Technical Advisory Committee on Buruli Ulcer Disease in Geneva, Switzerland in 2006, and received the North American Benthological Society's Award of Excellence in Benthic Science in 2007. His academic and scholastic honors also include: Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, Men of Achievement, and American Men and Women of Science.
Dr. Merritt has published more than 170 refereed scientific journal articles, including articles in Ecology, Scientific American, Annual Review of Entomology, Journal of Insect Physiology, Oikos, BioScience, Canadian Journal of Zoology, Natural History, Journal of the North American Benthological Society, Journal of Forensic Sciences, Journal of Medical Entomology, and others. He has published 29 chapters in books, and has co-edited four editions of a textbook entitled, "An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America" and a book entitled, "Black Flies: Ecology, Population Management, and Annotated World List." He has served as Associate Editor for three journals, The American Midland Naturalist Freshwater Invertebrate Biology, and the Journal of Medical Entomology.
Dr. Merritt has served as President of the 2,500-member North American Benthological Society (NABS), and been an active member of the North Eastern States Regional Project (NE-ll8) on black fly biology and control. He has served on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency panels, various Entomological Society of America committees and on several U.S. Department of Agriculture/SEA departmental review teams for Entomology programs throughout the country. He was on the Nature Conservancy Scientific Advisory Committee and the Fulbright Board of Directors for the State of Michigan.