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Biographical Memoirs Volume 83 (2003) / Chapter Skim
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Edward F. Knipling
Pages 80-93

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From page 81...
... He was best known for cleveloping the sterile insect technique, which was the principal technology used to eradicate the screwworm fly from North America. Often callecl "Knip" by his friends en cl colleagues, he was born in Port Lavaca, Texas, on March 20, 1909, en c!
From page 82...
... During World War II Knip was given the important assignment of devising better ways for controlling the arthropocl vectors (flies, mosquitoes, lice, en cl other biting insects) of human diseases affecting our troops.
From page 83...
... the iclea of using sterile insects for population suppression en cl eradication. He reasoned that if male flies couIcl be proclucecl in large numbers, sterilizecI, en cl releasec!
From page 84...
... This report excited Knipling en cl BushIancl en cl they cleciclec! to try this procedure on screwworm flies, however, BushIancl's laboratory clicl not have the neeclecl equipment, en cl funcis were not available to purchase what was neeclecI.
From page 85...
... to eradicate insect pest populations not only excited Knipling en cl BushIancl but also gave their work great impetus as it excited the livestock proclucers in screwworm-infestec! areas of the Uniter!
From page 86...
... human suffering, are too large en cl staggering to even estimate. The success of the sterile insect release technique for eradicating the screwworm fly was the first successful clemonstration that a pest species can be eliminatecl from large geographical areas with appropriate technology.
From page 87...
... When this is done, the use of chemical peshc~des on cotton, and the consequential environmental impact, will be greatly reduced. After retirement in 1973 and until his death Knipling remained professionally active, including serving as an unpaid consultant to the USDA's Agricultural Research Service and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, where he advised on pest management programs.
From page 88...
... .. as In seminars en cl lectures on insect pest management, Knipling constructively questioned en cl challengecl many conventional insect control strategies that are baser!
From page 89...
... his great reverence for nature en cl love of the outdoors. In his roles as a clistinguishecl scientist en cl administrator Knip significantly acivancecl the woricl's knowlecige of insect pest management en c!
From page 90...
... go BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS 1970 Membership, American Academy of Arts and Sciences Honorary doctorate, Clemson University 1971 President's Award for Distinguished Federal Service 1975 Honorary doctorate, University of Florida 1986 Agricultural Research Service Science Hall of Fame 1991 FAO Medal for Agricultural Science 1992 World Food Prize 1995 Japan Prize 1996 Honorary doctorate, Texas A&M University
From page 91...
... 331-48. 1955 Possibilities of insect control or eradication through the use of sexually sterile males.
From page 92...
... 19-32. 1970 Suppression of pest Lepidoptera by releasing partially sterile malesA theoretical appraisal.
From page 93...
... 1992 Principles of insect parasitism analyzed from new perspectives: Practical implications for regulating insect populations by biological means. Agricultural Research Service Handbook No.


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