Randall T. Schuh

George T. Willett Curator and Professor
Invertebrate Zoology

Education
  • University of Connecticut, Ph.D., 1971
  • Michigan State University, M.S., 1967
  • Oregon State University, B.S., 1965
E-mail
schuh@amnh.org
Phone
212.769.5610
Fax
212.769.5277
Downloads
SchuhCV_7.2009.pdf
Links
Planetary Biodiversity Inventory (PBI) for Plant Bugs

Research Interests

The systematic study of the 40,000 species Heteroptera (true bugs) is the empirical focus of Dr. Schuh's work.  His program of field and revisionary work on the family Miridae has encompassed North America, South America, South Africa, and Australia. Dr. Schuh has worked to describe and create a phylogenetic classification for the mirid subfamily Phylinae.  A 5-year Planetary Biodiversity Inventory award from the NSF is funding description and integration of the Australian and South African faunas into a world classification, with the concomitant training of postdocs and PhD students. In cooperation with Ward Wheeler of the American Museum, Dr. Schuh has sequenced 3500 base pairs of DNA for 450 true bug species representing 85 percent of known families.  These efforts complement reference work on the family-level reference work on heteropteran classification produced by Dr. Schuh and Prof. James A. Slater, and the production of a phylogenetic classification for all Heteroptera.   

As part of his commitment to furthering our understanding of systematic methods Dr. Schuh authored the graduate-level textbook “Biological Systematics: Principles and Applications”, published by Cornell University Press.

Teaching Experience

  • Faculty Appointments
    • Adjunct Professor, Doctoral Program in Evolutionary Biology, CUNY, 1978-to date
    • Adjunct Professor, Department of Entomology, Cornell University, 1988-to date
  • Courses Taught
    • Principles of Systematics, CUNY (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004)
    • Biogeography, CUNY (1988, 1990, 1992)
  • Graduate Advisees
    • Christiano Schwertner, CAPES Fellow, Brazil
    • Christiane Weirauch, Frei Universitat, Berlin, Annette Kade Fellow
    • Sabra Turnbull, CUNY/New York Botanical Garden
    • Marc Williams, CUNY
    • Michael D. Schwartz, CUNY
  • Graduate Committees
    • Dimitri Forero, Cornell University
    • Thomas J. Henry, University of Maryland
    • Joe McHugh, Cornell University
    • Kurt Johnson, CUNY
    • Mary Rauchenberger, CUNY
    • Steve Churchill, CUNY
    • Bonnie Bain, CUNY