South Region

Nan-Yao Su, Ph.D.

Distinguished Professor of Entomology
Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center University of Florida

13 U.S. Patents

Dr. Nan-Yao Su is one of the world’s leading authorities on subterranean termites and their management. Along with colleagues at Dow AgroSciences, he developed a revolutionary approach for protecting homes and other buildings from these wood-consuming insects, the Sentricon® termite colony elimination system.

For much of the 20th century, the standard treatment for subterranean termites involved application of liquid insecticide to soil around the exterior of a building. This method was not environmentally sustainable and not always successful at stopping infestations because it only killed termites in the treated area. Subterranean termites can travel hundreds of feet from their nests to forage.

Beginning in the late 1980s, Su and Dow scientists pioneered a safe, effective new approach to termite management, using a slow-acting compound called hexaflumuron. It kills termites by interfering with their molting process. The team incorporated hexaflumuron into a bait that could be placed underground in feeding stations. Foraging termites would feed on the bait and carry portions back to the nest to share with other members of the colony. This was a key advantage because it meant the bait could reach the majority of termite workers and potentially destroy the colony. Hexaflumuron is harmless to people and pets and poses no threat to other insect species when properly used.

In 1995, the Sentricon® system became commercially available. Since then, it has been used in 18 countries, protected more than 3 million homes, and saved more than 9,000 metric tons of insecticide that would have been applied otherwise. Su has used the system to protect historic landmarks including the Statue of Liberty, and has helped fight large-scale termite infestations in New Orleans and in other countries including Chile, China, New Zealand, and Vietnam.

To honor his accomplishments with Sentricon®, Su has received numerous awards, including the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He has authored and co-authored more than 250 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on termite biology and management.

He received a B.S. in 1975 and an M.S. in 1977 from Kyoto Institute of Technology and a doctorate in entomology from the University of Hawaii in 1982. Su has been with the University of Florida since 1984 and works at the Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center.

Su has received 11 U.S. patents and continues to develop innovations to make the Sentricon® system more practical, effective, and affordable.

Thomas Edison

Inventor and Businessman

1847 – 1931

1,093 Patents

Thomas Edison is the most prolific inventor in U.S. history with 1,093 patents. No other inventor improved the standard of living of Americans in the 20th century as much as Edison. His inventions span diverse fields: electric lighting and power systems, batteries, recorded sound, and film. Edison contributed to both chemistry and botany with a project in Fort Myers to find a natural source of rubber to be grown in the U.S. during a national emergency. Credited for creating the first modern industrial research laboratory, Edison followed an empirical approach to scientific research and helped set the standard for how to invent. As the man of the millennium, Edison’s research and business practices created the model for today’s research laboratories, product development and invention processes.

William Glenn

B.E.E., M.S., Ph.D. (UC Berkeley)
Professor Emeritus, Florida Atlantic University

1926 – 2013

137 Patents

Dr. Glenn had a lifetime of innovations, achievements and contributions in the fields of high resolution imaging technology, electronic/optical physics and electrical engineering. A past VP/Director of Research at CBS Laboratories and Director of the NASA Imaging Technology Space Center, he developed high-definition digital imaging technology that had utility in military, aerospace, surveillance and consumer applications (Panavision). Glenn developed the High Definition Maximum Value (HDMAX) complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera, which exceeded the resolution and performance capabilities of all existing high definition television cameras. The camera was used by NASA at the international space station and versions of the HDMAX CMOS camera were developed for U.S. military use in coastline security and surveillance and by NASA for space-flight scientific observation, inspection and medical informatics.