My research career began in 1961 at the Dayton Museum of Natural History where I worked for over 10 years. In 1970, after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology at Northern Arizona University, I began work on a Master of Science degree in Biology dealing with the biology, ecology and evolution of seed beetles (Bruchidae) and their host plants. In 1971, I began at the University of Florida and completed a PhD in Entomology in 1976 while working at the ARS biological control quarantine facility. My dissertation dealt with the ecology and effects of a native insect on waterhyacinth. I then accepted a post-doctoral position to expand this research by investigating the effects of introduced biological control agents on waterhyacinth growth processes. This was followed by a personal services contract with USDA-ARS to investigate the feasibility of initiating a biological control project on the submersed aquatic weed Myriophyllum spicatum. This work took me to Italy where I was based for several months at the European Biological Control of Weeds Laboratory in Rome. I have conducted research on the biological control of aquatic weeds for the U.S. Department of Agriculture from February 1978 to the present time and have been the research leader of the Aquatic Weed Research Unit since May 1994. This research has taken me to numerous countries around the world including Italy, Switzerland, Germany, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Belize, Panama, Brazil, Argentina, Jamaica, Haiti, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Canada.