• Zane Marsh as an intern with Oahu Invasive Species Committee monitoring and baiting little fire ants, and removing miconia invasive weeds across Oahu.

    Zane Marsh

  • Ing Ng working as an intern at Garden by the Bay, Singapore attending and caring for a wide range of tropical ornamental plants for display during the Summer of 2024.

    Ing Ng

  • Kekoa Larger as a TAE senior working in PEPS Sustainable Pest Management lab to gain research experience in organic pest management approaches against various sweetpotato pests and attending the Society of Nematologists Annual Conference to present his research findings.

    Kekoa Larger

  • Micaleh Crane-Worley spent a semester gaining novel beekeeping experience with Dr. Montgomery and Hawaii Beekeepers Association where she learned new tricks to maintaining apiary, examining bee health, extracting honey, moving bee colonies as well as discussing a legislation bill that would affect bee health.

    Micaleh Crane-Worley

  • J. Salehi joined a study abroad program with PEPS faculty Dr. Wright, to determine if there is a symbiotic relationship between ants and Marula trees in South Africa.

    South Africa Researchers

  • Undergraduate students D. Wallace and W. Herty interned with Plant Pathologist Dr. Marquez at Hawaii Department of Agriculture to process plant disease samples, isolate and identify plant pathogens for their capstone projects.

    Pest ID Training

  • Students taking Weed Science class followed a schematic map and built the outline structrure of a chicken tractor in less than 15 minutes.

    Hands-On Training at Magoon

  • PEPS faculty and students showcased how exciting it is to study in Tropical Agriculture and the Environment and Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences.

    Excited about TAE and PEPS

  • TAE student, M. Mawae, taking PEPS Capstone course received one-on-one training from graduate student, G. Miarkiani. She got hands-on experience on how to make circuit boards, install sound traps, and create other environmentally friendly traps to capture mosquitoes while avoiding non-target species.

    TAE Capstone

  • T. Lendt gained proficient skills in microscope work to study plant host preference of a native bee in Hawaii, Hylaeus yellow-faced bee, in Dr. Krushelnyck’s lab.

    Yellow-Faced Bee
  • Megan @ Monsanto
  • Nikki&Gabe

  • Student graduates from PEPS are very successful in getting jobs with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture

    SumikoJordieShelby

 

Tropical Agriculture and the Environment Program

Students graduate from our undergraduate program will be prepared for employment in highly-skilled ag related jobs, urban pest management, science education, government agencies, ag industries, and other environmental resource management professions or graduate studies.

TAE in the Spotlight

TAE major offers numerous career paths for students interested in becoming part of scientific solutions to some of the most pressing issues we face in the 21st century.

Why get a certificate in Pest and Pathogen Management under TAE?

TAE is the major for students interested in learning how to responsibly manage plants, pests, soils, and water resources in our agricultural and urban landscapes.

You can select to specialize in one of these concentrations from TAE


Career Opportunities:

  • Crop/Plant Production & Protection
  • Hotriculturist
  • Invasive Insect/Plant Disease Specialist
  • Landscape Manager
  • Pest Management
  • Plant/Molecular Breeder
  • Precision Agriculture
  • Research Scientist
  • Science Educator
  • Soil Scientist


Student Learning Environment

  1. Demonstrate understanding of the science of agriculture and its interaction with the environment from molecules to ecosystems.
  2. Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate scientific evidence, knowledge and issues associated with agriculture in a dynamic world.
  3. Demonstrate the ability to identify problems associated with agroecosystems and apply the scientific method to develop solutions.
  4. Demonstrate proficiency in oral and written communications for both professional and lay audiences.

Students in TAE learn environmental stewardship for a sustainable earth.

 

 

Department Chair

Koon-Hui Wang


Undergraduate Advising

Michael Melzer

Mariana Luis

Koon-Hui Wang


Undergraduate Curriculum Committee

Jia-Wei Tay

Ikkei Shikano

Brent Sipes