This Is What Science Looks Like at NC State: Warren Sconiers

Editor’s Note: This post was written by Warren Sconiers, a postdoctoral entomology researcher at NC State. The post is an entry in an ongoing series that we hope will highlight the diversity of researchers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The series is inspired by the This Is What A Scientist Looks Like site.

I am Warren Sconiers and I am the Dean’s Postdoctoral Fellow for NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences for 2014-2016. My advisor is Steve Frank in the Department of Entomology and I study how urban environmental conditions such as temperature and drought affect tree health and pest abundance.

I work to understand why insect pests outbreak on urban trees and try to predict their outbreaks using characteristics of tree health (such as nutrient concentration) and insect health (such as immune response).

My research goals are to expand this system to include soil microbial fauna to determine how temperature and drought affect plant-insect herbivore interactions from the soil to the trees to the insects.

I am from southern California and made my way all the way to the east coast to be part of the Wolfpack! I finished my B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California, Irvine and my Ph.D. in Entomology from Texas A&M University. When I tell people about what I do, the first thing they ask is how I got into it.

I have always been interested in plants and insects since I could remember. I would sometimes pause in the middle of sports to try to catch an insect flying by! I realized that my interests could be my career with classes in ecology and entomology during my B.S., so I understand how important exposing students to a variety of disciplines can be to developing their careers.

To expose more students to ecology and a variety of life science disciplines, I started a student organization on campus called SEEDS (Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability) here at NC State. Our chapter is part of the national network of other SEEDS chapters across the country and the international organization Ecological Society of America. Our goal is to increase the diversity of scientists in ecology, environmental sciences, sustainable agriculture, and related fields. We do this by directly exposing students to hands-on education with ecology and providing networking and career development opportunities.

In addition to research and service, I enjoy teaching and look forward to revealing the world of insects to many students. I have taught several courses and can’t wait to do more! I also like educating the general public and participate in outreach events to students of all ages and to local retirement communities here in North Carolina.

When I am not sciencing I enjoy extreme fitness programs, I have a green belt in Dahn-Koon-Do (a Korean martial art) and play all sorts of sports. I also do some creative writing and sketch the story to match. I believe that all these activities help keep me balanced and enjoying it all. Go Wolfpack!