Dini Miller: 2019 Pest Management Professional Hall of Fame

    Dini Miller, Professor of Entomology at Virginia Tech, will have the distinguished honor of being inducted into the Pest Management Professional (PMP) Hall of Fame.

    The PMP Hall of Fame was created in 1996 to honor past and present leaders in the pest management industry. The hall of fame recognizes pest management professionals who practice and uphold industry standards, train and educate other professionals, acknowledging those individuals who revolutionize the pest management industry by developing cutting edge products and services.  The industry-led selection committee focuses on each candidate’s career achievements and their contribution to shaping the pest management world.

    Dr. Miller has been on the faculty at Virginia Tech for the past 20 years, and her program has always focused on tackling new and difficult problems facing urban pest management. Her research has centered around a wide variety of urban pests including German cockroaches, subterranean termites, pest ants, and bed bugs. The goal of her research has been to determine the best practices for controlling these pests in the urban environment. She strives to learn which products are most effective in controlling these pests to develop the best pesticide application methods, and to make existing treatments more effective.

    Perhaps the most important part of Dr. Miller’s work is her extraordinary dedication to Extension programs throughout Virginia and the rest of the world. She is committed to training urban pesticide applicators and developing new pesticide application techniques to improve pest management in dense urban areas.  She strives to educate the public about these pests by teaching people how to effectively control them. Dr. Miller works with apartment managers, social workers, and medical personnel to better the lives of people who face problems with urban pest insects. Her accomplishments in these areas was recently recognized by her receipt of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s “Healthy Home Hero” award.

    Dr. Miller is actively working on new assessment based pest management strategies which use insect population monitoring to allow more effective treatment of roaches and other urban pests. These strategies have been effective in eliminating pest populations without asking residents to alter their lifestyle. These treatment plans include continued monitoring to provide the safest and most effective pest treatment options.

    The PMP Hall of Fame recognizes titans in the pest management industry and Dini Miller embodies the qualities of a successful pest management professional, as she is devoted to improving the lives of people on a global scale. Her achievement will be recognized at an induction ceremony held on October 14^th 2019 in San Diego, California on the eve of the National Pest Management Association’s annual conference.