Giuseppe Rotundo is Emeritus Professor  from 31 may 2016

Hi is Full Professor of Agricultural Entomology in the Department of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Molise (Campobasso - Italy) from1990 to 2014. He spent a year (1977-78) in the United States where he conducted his research at the Department of Entomology in Riverside (California) and at the Agricultural Research Service Centre in Gainesville (Florida) where he examined and studied the extraction, purification and bioassay of sex pheromone. From 1982 to 1990 was associated professor of “Principles and methods of chemical control against insect pests” at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Naples. Since 1980 he collaborates with the Donegani Institute in Novara, in Italy (ex-Montedison Research Centre) in order to identify and apply semiochemicals of plant and animal origins. On 1983 he worked with the European Community ISPRA centre and with Professor S.B. Vinson from the Department of Entomology at A&M University in Texas where he set up the semiartificial rearing of entomoparasitoids. On 1984 carried out further research regarding the identification of sexual pheromone at the Department of Agriculture in the Organic Chemical Synthesis Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland (NATO senior fellowship). From 1984 to 1991 he is member of the publication commission of the “Bollettino del Laboratorio di Entomologia agraria Filippo Silvestri”, Portici, Napoli. On 1985 received scientific recognition from the Filippo Silvestri Foundation for the basic study of sex pheromone application in insect pest control. Since 1995 he collaborates with the Department of Animal Physiology – University of Groningen (Netherlands) for electrophysiological and behavioural studies on Lepidoptera and Diptera. Since 2004 he is a member of the Editorial board of the "Bulletin of Insectology" published by the Departement of Agroenvironmental Sciences and Technologies of the University of Bologna. Guest Editor of a special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049) "Biological activity of plant compounds and extracts".Since 2004 he collaborates with the ISAGRO Research - Novara (Italy) in order to identify and apply new insecticides.

 He has focused his interest on the intraspecific (insects) and interspecific (insect-plant and insect-plant-parasitoid) interactions to set up new control strategies. He has recently identified the sex pheromone of some Lepidoptera (Banana moth, Mediterranean and dura stem borers, Artichoke moth, Lackey moth, Oak precession moth, Chestnut Tortricid moths) and the volatile compounds of chestnut, maize and olive plants biologically active on insect pests and their parasitoids. The sex-pheromone blends, the dispensers and the traps have been improved for their practical use by laboratory and field tests. Sex-pheromones extraction and purification methods, electrophysiological (EAG, EAD, SCR), behavioural (olfactometer, wind tunnel), GC, GC-MS and microanalitical techniques were set up. The experience acquired by studying semiochemicals has been recently applied to insects harmful to stored products, forests and olive. This researches required to set up artificial diets for laboratory rearing of insect pests and beneficials. Recently, a serological technique was developed in order to identify and quantify hidden pest infestations in stored cereals. During recent years, research has been directed to the evaluation of environmental risks caused by pesticide to various river environments, of the quality of water using biotic indexes and to the identification of new plant compounds for the control of mosquitoes. His research activity is documented by over 300 scientific articles published on national and international journals and by 4 patents. Guest Editor of special issue Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049) "Biological activity of plant compounds and extracts".

Professor Rotundo is a member of the Italian Entomological Society, the National Olive Academy, the National Entomology Academy, the Organization for Biological and Integrated Control, the European Chemoreception Research Organization, the Italian Association of cereal Sciences and Technology, the Italian Society of Ecology, the Italian Fitochemical Society.

From 2004  to 2008 he is the president of the "Patents commission" at the University of Molise.