ADVANCE - Purdue and the Center for Faculty Success

Dr. Linda Mason, associate dean of grad school and professor of entomology, received the Senior Career Award for Extension Thursday, Nov. 8 at the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service Association Conference.

Mason was recognized for her more than 20 years in Extension leadership, excellence in delivering public education programs, and research that has benefited extension clientele.

 As the “go to extension entomologist” for extension educators, food pest management companies, and their clientele, Mason’s efforts have also resulted in more than $2 million in savings and a 20% reduction in pesticide applications worldwide.

The grain chilling technology her team developed during the 1990s, known as SLAM*, in fact, is now used by many large food processing facilities and continues to be the standard comparison treatment for new technologies currently under development.

• Sanitation of Facilities
• Loading of grain properly
• Aeration for temperature and pest management
• Monitoring for problems

Not only has she provided nearly 500 presentations to audiences ranging from farmers to business managers and government regulators, Mason’s work has been featured in a variety of press articles and has been promoted on national television, focusing national attention on the issues of controlling insect pests and reducing residual pesticides in food. 

 She is a member of the Advance Purdue Leadership Team and the Advance Representation to the College of Agriculture.