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The Sword Lab
Insects, cotton, and all points in between...
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Gregory Sword

swarm-dudeEducation

Ph.D. University of Texas, Department of Zoology, 1998
B.Sc. University of Arizona, Dept. of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 1992

Professional Employment

2011 – current Professor
Charles R. Parencia Chair in Cotton Entomology
Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University

2009 – 2010 Associate Professor
Director of First Year Biology
School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney

2006 – 2009 Senior Lecturer
School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney

2000 – 2005 Research Ecologist
USDA-ARS, Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory

1998 – 2000 Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Oxford, Department of Zoology
University of Arizona, ARL-Division of Neurobiology

Awards

2020    Director’s Superior Grantsmanship Award, Texas A&M AgriLife Research

2020    Patent Award, Texas A&M System Technology Commercialization

2019    Texas Environmental Excellence Award Finalist (2nd place), Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

2018 Patent Award, Texas A&M System Technology Commercialization

2018 Award for Excellence in Integrated Pest Management, Southwestern Branch of the Entomological Society of America

2018 Texas Environmental Excellence Award Finalist (2nd place), Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

2017 Excellence in Innovation Award, Texas A&M System Technology Commercialization

2017 Patent Award, Texas A&M System Technology Commercialization

2016 Outstanding Faculty Award, Texas A&M University, Department of Entomology Graduate Student Organization

2013 Geoffrey G.E. Scudder Lecture in Entomology, University of British Columbia, May 17, 2013 (funded visit and public lecture)

2012 TAMU Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Safe Laboratory of the Month award (May)

2011 Distinguished Service Award for career achievements involving research conducted at the University of Texas, Brackenridge Field Laboratory

2011 Top 10 University of Sydney Lecturer of the Year (#1 in the School of Biological Sciences, #6 University-wide as ranked by UniJobs.com.au nationwide poll)

2009 Perry Adkisson Distinguished Speaker Award, Texas A&M University, Entomology Graduate Student Association. (funded visit and honorarium)

2007 Invited participant in the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) World Practical Course on DNA Microarrays, Centre for Marine Science and Technology, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tamil Nadu, India, Aug 11-16, 2007 (all expenses paid)

2005 USDA-ARS, Superior Performance Award

2001 USDA-ARS, Superior Performance Award

1998 NSF-NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship in Science and Engineering (declined)

1990 Howard Hughes Undergraduate Biology Research Program participant

Teaching

ENTO 402: Field Crop Insects

EEBL 608 Integrative Animal Behavior

ENTO 690 Theory of Research

ENTO 681: Current and Emerging Topics in Entomology (Graduate seminar)

ENTO 681: Phenotypic Plasticity in Insects (Graduate seminar)

Research

Publications

ResearchGate Profile

Google Scholar Profile

 

Recent Posts

  • New paper in Science changes the way we think about locust swarming
  • Sword Lab students win big at 2025 Beltwide Cotton Conference
  • Sword lab students win again at 2024 Entomological Society of America meeting!
  • Sword lab students win big at 2023 Entomological Society of America meeting!
  • Cotton gene-editing project paves a new path for plant protection
  • New PNAS paper about density-dependent warning coloration in adult locusts

Lab contact information

Gregory Sword

Professor & Charles R. Parencia Chair in Cotton Entomology

Department of Entomology,
Interdisciplinary Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EEB) Degree Program, and
Molecular & Environmental Plant Sciences Program
Texas A&M University
TAMU 2475
College Station, TX, 77843, USA

Directions to lab: (Google map)
Entomology Research Lab Rm. 112-120

Email: gasword[at]tamu.edu
Phone: (979) 862-1702
Fax: (979) 845-6305

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