Aloha!
The Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, or PEPS, brings together experts in several fields, such as plant pathology, entomology, weed science, and integrated pest management who use innovative research and cutting-edge tools to preserve food security and environmental functioning.
Our Mission
To provide excellence in research, education and service for the biology, ecology and management of pests in agriculture, natural and human-built environments in Hawaii, the Pacific and the tropics.
What we do
- Invasive species biology, ecology and management
- Genomics, phylogenetics, host-pathogen interactions
- Biosecurity and Agrosecurity
- Biodiversity conservation
- Genetic engineering for pest & disease resistance
- Biological control of pests using natural enemies
- Urban pest management
- Sustainable and integrated pest management
- Turfgrass and landscape pest management
Who we work with
- Other Departments in CTAHR especially Tropical Plants and Soil Sciences and Natural Resources and Environmental Management;
- Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-ARS);
- Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-APHIS);
- Forest Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-FS);
- United States Department of Defense;
- United States Geological Survey;
- Hawaii State Departments of Agriculture, Land and Natural Resources, and Health
- UH Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology Program
- Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum;
- Harold L. Lyons Arboretum.
We also have a cooperative relationship with the Environment and Plant Protection Institute in the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences Hainan, China.