Employment History:
Research Assistant, Department of Botany, University Massachusetts; Research Assistant, Department of Entomology, University of Florida; Teaching and Research Assistant, University of California at Berkley; Research Assistant, University of Florida (1979); Entomology Instructor, U.S. Army, Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas (1979-1982)

Published Works:
Public Speaking and Presenting

Public Speaking Experience:

Why She is an Expert:
She is a world-renowned entomological specialist. While thysanoptera are the hardest group of insects to work with – they’re hard to mount them onto slides, very delicate and easy to mush – Dr. Broda has worked extensively with them. Her knowledge in the field is extensive. “I can identify and put names on thrips from all over the world,” she adds. “I have a series of them that I am working on, which are going to be part of a new species I’ll be naming.”

Best Advice:
“You have to hear from other people how valuable their work is. There have been a series of retirements of the identification and taxonomic staff at the Smithsonian as well as other big institutions [and] universities. There aren’t a lot of people trained and ready to replace them. If you are interested, explore opportunities at these organizations.”

Passionate about:
“Having an unknown specimen handed to me and being able to say what it is. And usually, it isn’t just thrips; it’s also beetles and other things. Sometimes, I know exactly what it is just by looking at it; sometimes I do research through the collections and the references to discover what it is.”

Biography Excerpt:
Dr. Susan Broda works as an entomologist for the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service within the Plant Protection and Quarantine Division. As an entomological specialist with a focus on the thysanoptera, her responsibilities include researching thysanoptera systematics and cases pertaining to public health in order to pinpoint agricultural risks. As the green initiative begins to take precedent, Dr. Broda’s role becomes increasingly vital due to her studies of the impact insects have on our ecosystem.

     

Cambridge Who's Who: What is the most rewarding aspect of your career?  
DR. SUSAN BRODA :  Looking at aspects of God’s creation that are totally invisible to the average person. These little insects are like a dust of sand. I have them under a microscope at 800 times (as far as the magnification goes) and I can see little details on them. They’re so beautiful under there. All those aspects that have been hidden to early people and even people today are fascinating.

What is the most significant issue facing your profession today?
Marginalization and being ignored, which is always a problem for entomology. Most of the subjects of our endeavors are out of the zone of human eyesight. It’s always going to be a problem of education, publishing and getting our field out and in front of people. Because of all the green initiatives, our group is terribly important in the environment. Insects make up much of our environment, including our enemies – the termites. They’re the number one insect in terms of biomass. In the tropics, there are huge mounds made by termites. There are trillions of them.