[2012 Leadership Awards] Harold Harlan

Harold Harlan (photo: David Hills)

It might be hard to believe, but Harold Harlan did not grow up dreaming of one day being a highly respected, much sought-after entomologist with a passion for bed bugs.

Growing up in rural Fayette County in southwestern Ohio, Harlan wanted to be a teacher, specializing in agriculture. Not a surprise for the fifth of six sons of a tenant farmer who moved 11 times in 12 years growing up following his father from one field to the next. “My father did all types of farming and seasonal custom sheep shearing at night,” says Harlan. “We had a lot of chores and worked very hard because times were tough.”

Harlan recalls eating pig tails and other assorted odd cuts of meat when his father worked at the local butcher shop in the winter to help make ends meet. “It was hard, but we survived and learned the value of hard work,” he says of that time.

With little discretionary cash for movies and other teenage pursuits, Harlan focused on his studies. An energetic and mischievous student – a high school teacher encouraged young Harlan to use his active mind for peaceful purposes – Harlan was drawn to science.

His high school biology, chemistry and physics teachers made it a point to remind him that there were no short cuts when it came to making grades and learning; it is a lesson that still resonates today with this 67-year-old lifelong learner. “We did not have many books at home so I spent a lot of time in the library at school,” recalls Harlan. “I was curious about a lot of things and the library offered me the chance to satisfy those curiosities.”

Leaving the Farm
Following his high school graduation, Harlan made the 50- (or so) mile trip north to Columbus and enrolled at The Ohio State University to study agriculture. His classes included an entomology course that Harlan found quite interesting, so he asked if he could major in the subject.

When his professor said, yes, it is possible, out went agriculture and in came entomology. “I was fascinated by the diversity of entomology,” Harlan says. When then given an opportunity to work at OSU’s insect museum, he learned how valuable collecting and preserving insects is to research efforts.

After earning a B.S. in entomology in 1967, Harlan stayed on at Ohio State to earn his M.S. as a Buckeye in 1968. During the course of his studies, he learned the value of preparation and different teaching styles, a skill he has carried with him through his career. He credits one of his professors, Dr. Paul Freytag, with instilling in him the discipline to be a good teacher while at the same time remaining open to new ideas and ways to get the job done.

The Army Comes Calling
While Harlan was attending OSU, the United States’ engagement in the Vietnam War deepened. He received his draft notice just after accepting a direct commission in the U.S. Army as an entomologist.

Following 20 months at Ft. Bragg, N.C., Harlan spent a year in Vietnam helping the Army fight off vector-borne diseases such as dengue fever and malaria. There were more than 40,000 cases of malaria reported between 1965 and 1970 in the Vietnam theater of operations.

Following his tour in Vietnam, Harlan made stops in various posts stateside and abroad including Ft. Dix (New Jersey), Ft. McPherson (Georgia), Ft. Gulick (Panama) and Ft. Meade (Maryland), as well as in Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War.

In Panama, Harlan was in charge of the Atlantic area public health office for the canal zone. He says he came across a plethora of interesting creepy, crawly insects while working there. “We came across everything from mosquitoes to vine snakes and 35 different species of cockroaches,” says Harlan. “The bugs were fantastic.”

In Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War, Harlan was executive officer of a preventive medicine unit. Among the pests that Harlan and his team encountered were filth flies, scorpions, camel spiders and snakes. The team’s main jobs were to prevent vector-borne and other potentially harmful diseases carried by these insects from threatening coalition troops, and educate the troops on the insects and diseases. “We stressed personal protective measures, such as repellents, and sanitation in and around camp sites,” says Harlan. Afterward, he returned to a faculty position at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, the Department of Defense medical school.

A Diverse Career
Following his retirement from active duty following a 25-year career, Harlan worked in the private sector, including a nine-year stint as senior entomologist with the National Pest Management Association (NPMA).

“He is passionate about his work and will dig and dig to get the correct identification for an insect,” says Richard Kramer, president of Innovative Pest Management in Brookville, Md., who first met Harlan while the two were stationed at Ft. McPherson in Atlanta in the mid-1970s. “He worked hard for the small PMP while at NPMA.”

Greg Baumann, vice president of training and technical services for Orkin and Harlan’s boss at NPMA, echoed Kramer’s sentiment about Harlan’s dedication to his profession. “Harold is driven by the joy of sharing knowledge and a constant quest for scientific truth,” says Baumann. “It is never about his personal gain; it is about doing what is right for the industry and promotion of learning.”

Today, Harlan works as a civilian entomologist, senior scientific associate, with the Armed Forces Pest Management Board. The board advises on policy, provides guidance, and coordinates the exchange of information on all matters related to pest management throughout the Department of Defense. The group’s mission is to ensure that environmentally sound and effective programs are in place to prevent pests and disease vectors from becoming a problem. And when you consider the geographic territory for which Harlan and his peers are responsible, you quickly realize how big a job it is.

With requests coming in from military, government agencies and diplomatic locations across the globe, Harlan puts his extensive research talents to good use. The Information Services Division where Harlan works reviews more than 60 journals and has amassed more than 200,000 articles dealing with pests and vector-borne threats.

Harlan says he provides information on everything from malaria, dengue fever, tick-borne diseases and hemorrhagic fever to tips on controlling cockroaches, termites, stored product pests and stinging insects. Have a termite infestation in your barracks in Hawaii or a stored product pest issue at a supply depot in Kandahar? Harlan is the go-to guy for advice.
 

Over the years, Harlan has been a highly requested speaker and has given talks on vector management issues in Hong Kong, bed bugs and filth flies in Dubai, and many places in between.“My reward after giving a presentation is that everyone learns something and can use some piece of information to improve their work,” he says. “That is very satisfying.” Harlan has also been honored by his research peers by having a leaf hopper and moth ear mite species named after him.

Where is the future of entomology headed, in Harlan’s opinion? He says there will always be new species of ants, mosquitoes or stored product pests to discover but that proper identification will always have a place in the laboratory and in the field. “You can’t effectively deal with a pest until you know what it is,” Harlan says. “That is a skill that will never go out of style.”

Young entomologists and PMPs need to observe and let insects tell them what they (the insects) will do, Harlan added, explaining, “Insects will surprise you. Don’t guess from reference books or the Internet. Trust your observations, because what you see in real life is the truth.”