Paula Shrewsbury, Ph.D., professor and extension specialist at the University of Maryland, is widely recognized for developing integrated pest management (IPM) programs for the green industries, biological control of invasive insects, and advancement of sustainable landscapes, nurseries, and turf systems.
Shrewsbury earned her B.S. in plant science at the University of Rhode Island and her M.S. in entomology at the University of California, Riverside. Her interest in pests of ornamental plants matured during Ph.D. studies at the University of Maryland. Questions surrounding the ecology of pests and their outbreaks in urban landscapes fueled her passion for biological control. After two years at Rutgers University and a leadership position at the Smithsonian Institution, Shrewsbury joined the faculty at the University of Maryland in 1999. For almost three decades she has worked as an extension IPM specialist. She served as director of graduate students and instructor for several graduate and undergraduate courses, and she led several of the department's award-winning outreach programs.
Shrewsbury's research and educational activities blend seamlessly together to meet the needs of green industry stakeholders, citizens, and graduate and undergraduate students. Three major themes of her programs are 1) increasing the sustainability of managed nursery and urban landscape systems by modifying habitat factors to conserve and enhance beneficial arthropods and ecosystem services they provide; 2) identifying biological control approaches targeting invasive nursery, landscape, turf, and forest pests; and 3) providing research-based information to clientele to inform management decisions using a diversity of educational approaches.
She has more than 160 research and extension publications, reached more than 369,000 professionals and extension personnel attending 732 meetings, and enlightened more than 25,000 children and parents attending the Insect Petting Zoo. Shrewsbury is a co-founder and long-time principal contributor to the University of Maryland Extension IPM weekly newsletter received by more than 10,000 professionals from 23 states annually.
Shrewsbury's contributions to extension, research, and teaching have been recognized at several different levels by many organizations. Shrewsbury was recognized by her peers for her efforts and impacts in extension by the Distinguished Achievement Award in Extension from the national ESA in 2018. She was the recipient of the Eastern Branch's (EB's) Recognition Award in Urban Entomology, the Distinguished Achievement Award in Extension, and ESA Service Award. Shrewsbury's primary stakeholder group presented her team with the award for Outstanding Effort in Integrated Pest Management. The Eighth International IPM Symposium presented Shrewsbury and her co-principal investigators with its International Integrated Pest Management Award of Recognition in 2015 for their research and extension outreach on the brown marmorated stink bug. She has received numerous awards from her university for efforts in teaching and outreach.
Shrewsbury has mentored and advised an impressive group of graduate and undergraduate students as well as six postdocs and visiting scientists.
Shrewsbury has provided outstanding service to ESA at the branch and national level. She served as the EB ESA program chair in 2012, as the EB president-elect and president in 2013 and 2014, respectively, and on the ESA Governing Board from 2015 to 2018. She also served on numerous other ESA committees and activities.