Sam starts as an Assistant Professor of Forest Entomology at OSU in August 2023. After completing his Ph.D. in Entomology at the University of Minnesota, Sam spent two years as a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University. From 2020-2023, Sam was an Assistant Professor of Insect Ecology in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, and Plant Pathology at Mississippi State University.

Sam’s research group (Landscaped Ecosystem and Forest Entomology Lab; LEAFE Lab) studies the ecology and management of insects that feed on trees. They work on a variety of topics across multiple spatial and temporal scales, ranging from biological control of ornamental pests to macroscale ecology of invading forest insects. Most projects are aimed at understanding drivers of the arrival, establishment, and spread of non-native insects (invading species and imported biological control agents), with a particular emphasis on mitigating ecological and economic impacts of invaders. Other themes in the lab include the spatial ecology of arthropods, tree and insect responses to climate change, and ecoinformatics.