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Dr. Forrest Mitchell |
Research entomologist Forrest Mitchell has been fascinated
with insects since childhood. This
has translated into a career and appointment to a professorship at Texas
A&M University and adjunct professorships at Oklahoma State University and
Tarlelton State University. While
developing a means of cataloging dragonflies, he stumbled upon the scanning
process. Scanning of biological
specimens is not a new idea or procedure.
Indeed, he watched a fellow scientist scanning leaves about two years
before, but did not make the connection with doing the same to dragonflies and
other insects until one June day in 1996.
The result was so pleasing that the Digital Dragonflies website was
opened on 31 August that same year. Since
then, the site has grown and expanded into two other websites – the Digital
Dragonfly Museum and the Damselflies of Texas.
The program has since published on the ecology and life history of
dragonflies and is in the process of publishing a book illustrated with scans
and images collected by the program over the years, as well as those
contributed by other authors and photographers.
Dr.
Mitchell obtained his B.S. from Texas A&M University, Wildlife and
Fisheries Science; an M.S. from Texas A&M University in Entomology; and a Ph.D. from Louisiana State University, in Entomology.
Dr. Mitchell has numerous publication credits and has conducted
scientific presentation both nationally and international in addition to
countless research projects.
Dr. Mitchell has provided a link to entomology publications originating from his program at TAES Stephenville. This fascinating site also includes a link to the top ranked web site in the world on Odonata: - Digital Dragonflies.