Dr. Robin Verble, professor of biological sciences at Missouri S&T, will spend part of this coming summer helping expand biodiversity in insect populations in Ecuador as a 2026-27 Fulbright U.S. Scholar.

Fulbright Scholar Awards are fellowships that offer scholars an opportunity to teach and conduct research abroad while strengthening their professional development and fostering long‑term connections that enrich their careers, campuses and communities.

Verble will conduct scholarship work in Ecuador, a location she has visited multiple times for research and teaching. The first time she visited Ecuador, Verble says she realized the area was an ecosystem that was too valuable and fragile to abandon.

“That initial interest led me to spend time there in the field, where I developed relationships with local partners and communities that deeply shaped my perspective and work,” says Verble. “Over multiple visits, those relationships grew into meaningful collaborations, and Ecuador became not just a site of study, but a place where I could contribute, learn and engage in ongoing dialogue.

“Being awarded a Fulbright allows me to return with greater purpose and continuity, building on that foundation in a more sustained and impactful way,” she says. “What has kept me coming back is not only the intellectual and professional opportunity, but also the generosity of the people and the sense that the work we’re doing together matters. Ecuador has, in many ways, become central to both my research trajectory and my broader commitment to cross-cultural collaboration.”

According to the Fulbright website, the Fulbright Prize has been awarded since 1993 to honor “outstanding contributions toward bringing peoples, cultures or nations to greater understanding of others.” The prize is named after J. William Fulbright, a longtime U.S. senator from Arkansas who created the program. 

“For this trip, I will work to increase insect biodiversity research across the Yasuni Biosphere region,” says Verble. “This will include working with the Tiputini Biodiversity Station team and other communities to find opportunities to integrate this work into their existing protocols and develop incentives to continue it.”

Verble’s research often focuses on the effects of human disturbances on insect communities, a bio-diverse species group that serves as a sensitive indicator of environmental change.

Verble joined Missouri S&T in summer 2018 as founding director of the university’s Ozark Research Field Station and associate professor of biological sciences. Prior to joining S&T, Verble was director of the Center for Fire Ecology at Texas Tech in Lubbock and an associate professor in the Texas Tech natural resources management department.

Verble holds a Ph.D. in applied ecology from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, a master’s degree in entomology from the University of Arkansas, and a bachelor’s degree in biophysics from the University of Southern Indiana.

About Missouri S&T

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top public universities for salary impact, according to the Wall Street Journal. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.