Evan P. Economo

Evan P. Economo is Professor and Chair of the Department of Entomology at the University of Maryland, holding the John B. Gahan and Margaret H. Gahan Professorship, with affiliate appointments at the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies and Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University.

His academic credentials include:

• Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Texas at Austin (2009)
• B.S. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona (2002)

Professor Economo's research centers on biodiversity informatics, integrating fieldwork, collections-based science, and computational technologies to study evolutionary and ecological patterns of global biodiversity. His lab develops advanced imaging, sequencing, and analytical tools to address knowledge gaps in understudied insect taxa, particularly ants, while creating public engagement platforms for biodiversity science. Key emphases include evolutionary diversification mechanisms, ecological structuring of communities, and foundational documentation of planetary biodiversity through large-scale data synthesis.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals dominant themes in ant systematics, biogeography, and biodiversity informatics, with significant contributions to understanding land use impacts, climate change responses, and social behaviors in ant societies. His work demonstrates strong interdisciplinary integration of computational methods, genomics, and traditional field biology to tackle fundamental biodiversity questions across spatial and temporal scales.

His scientific recognition includes:

• Mary I. Bunting Fellowship at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study (2021-2022)

Professor Economo actively recruits graduate students for 2025 through UMD's Entomology, Behavior/Ecology/Evolution/Systematics (BEES), and Computational Biology/Bioinformatics/Genomics (CBBG) programs. His research is supported by substantial external funding enabling the development of novel technologies for biodiversity analysis and public engagement. The Economo Lab maintains a research collection of approximately 50,000 ant specimens and fosters international collaborations across institutions including Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology and Harvard University.