Louie is a native of Virginia who caught the Western expansion bug after graduating from college with a BS in Biology. Following stints working in fisheries and ornithology (ask him about birds!) in several states including Montana, Idaho, and California, he returned to Virginia Tech to work on Vegetable IPM in Tom Kuhar’s lab for his PhD. In 2017 he headed west again, leaving veggies in the dust and starting a post-doc in pear IPM with Betsy Beers’ lab at WSU TFREC. In 2019 he started his own lab at TFREC as a research assistant professor. His work on the efficiency of kaolin clay for suppressing pear psylla led to the spectacle of beautiful white clay covered trees that adorn the valley each spring. In 2022 Louie joined the team at NWREC in Mount Vernon as an Assistant Professor. His program emphasizes the development of ecologically and quantitatively based integrated pest management (IPM) through applied research and education for regional crops of significance in Northwestern Washington. He also provides undergraduate instruction in ecological IPM as part of the Agriculture and Food Systems (AFS) Organic and Sustainable Agriculture major at WSU-Everett, contributes to broader development of the major at WSU Everett, foster connections between WSU-Everett students and NWREC, and provides instruction and advising to graduate students at NWREC. Louie loves the outdoors and all of the recreational opportunities this area has to offer. He spends his free time hiking, cycling, skiing and hanging out with his wife Molly and their awesome dog Blackbird.
