Robert K.D. Peterson, Ph.D., professor of entomology and department head in the Department of Land Resources & Environmental Sciences at Montana State University (MSU), was elected ESA Fellow in 2025.
Peterson is a native of Perry, Iowa, and has been fascinated with insects since he was 5 years old. He received his B.S. in entomology from Iowa State University in 1987 and his M.S. and Ph.D. in entomology from the University of Nebraska in 1991 and 1995. He was a scientist with Dow AgroSciences from 1995 through 2001. He accepted an associate professor position at MSU in 2002, where he created a novel research and teaching program in agricultural and biological risk assessment. He has published 146 peer-reviewed journal articles, 15 book chapters, and two books. Peterson was tenured in 2006 and promoted to professor in 2011.
Peterson's research career has focused on comparative biological risk assessment. This area was unique within risk assessment circles because his emphasis is on biological and ecological systems rather than just the traditional approach of exposure and hazards. Additional areas of his research emphasis include plant-stress ecophysiology and integrated pest management. Combined, these three areas form a diverse, yet interrelated, research program with important and broad advances for entomology. Peterson is arguably best known for his risk assessment research on comparative risks associated with insect-borne pathogens and management tactics. His lab's foundational paper in this area was published in 2006 in Environmental Health Perspectives, a top environmental science and health journal, and the paper was featured on the cover of the issue. This article was the first to assess the human-health risks of insecticides used to manage adult mosquitoes during the West Nile virus outbreak. More importantly, the paper compared the risks of exposure to insecticides and the risks posed by West Nile virus. He has delivered numerous invited keynote presentations on these topics, and his efforts have culminated in the 2025 Annual Review of Entomology article on IPM and environmental risk.
Peterson has received numerous research awards, including the 2021 Distinguished Faculty Award at MSU, the 2012 Presidential Citation from the American Mosquito Control Association, the 2009 Excellence in Integrated Pest Management Award from the Entomological Foundation, and the 2009 Top 10 Paper Advancing the Science of Risk Assessment from the Society of Toxicology.
Peterson has taught undergraduate and graduate courses, including environmental risk assessment, insect ecology, and various special-topics graduate courses. He also created and directed the professional M.S. program in environmental sciences at MSU.
In volunteer leadership as an ESA member, culminating as president in 2019, Peterson has been passionate about addressing and serving the professional needs of entomologists. As a result, he has mentored numerous members who are recent or current volunteer leaders throughout ESA. In addition, throughout his career he has mentored many professionals in diverse fields.