Evan P. Economo

I have broad interests in the ecology and evolution of biodiversity, and how biodiversity intersects with technology and sustainability.  I did my undergraduate work at the University of Arizona and graduate work at the University of Texas at Austin.  I was a fellow in the Society of Fellows at the University of Michigan from 2009-2012. Since 2012 I have led the Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit (Arilab) at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology. From 2019-2022 I served as Associate Ombudsperson, and from 2023-2024, I was the Dean of Faculty Affairs at OIST. In 2024, I moved to a full time position as Professor and Department Chair of Entomology at the University of Maryland, College Park, while remaining an Adjunct Professor at OIST.

Please visit our research pages for more on the projects we are working on in the lab.

CV|  Google Scholar | email: economo@umd.com

Education

  • 2009  Ph.D. University of Texas at Austin.  Ecology, Evolution, & Behavior.

  • 2002  B.S. University of Arizona. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology.

Appointments

University of Maryland, College Park

  • 2024-present:     James B. Gahan and Margaret H. Gahan Professor & Department Chair, Department of Entomology

  • 2025-present: Affiliate Professor, University of Maryland Institute of Advanced Computational Sciences

  • 2025-present: Affiliate Professor, Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute of Maryland

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology

  • 2024-present:    Adjunct Professor, Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit

  • 2023-2024:         Dean of Faculty Affairs

  • 2020-2024:         Professor, Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit

  • 2012-2020:         Assistant Professor,  Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit

  • 2011-2012:         Visiting Assistant Professor

Harvard University

  • 2021-2022:    Mary I. Bunting Fellow, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study

University of Michigan

  • 2009-2012:   Postdoctoral Fellow – Michigan Society of Fellows, Assistant Professor (non tenure-track), Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

  • 2012-2017:    Visiting Assistant Professor, Dept. of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Editorial Boards

The American Naturalist (2021-2025)

Current Research in Insect Science (2020-present)

Journal of Biogeography (2019-2023)

Myrmecological News (2017-present)

Publication List —>