Randy Gaugler was born at Fargo in 1950. He graduated from WFHS in 1968 where he played football and captained the wresting team. He received an A.S. from Minot State University at Bottineau where he was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame. He earned his BS, MS and PhD degrees from North Dakota State University, North Carolina State University and the University of Wisconsin, respectively. Gaugler is currently a distinguished professor at Rutgers University, and Director of the Center for Vector Biology. He also serves as a professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry for New Jersey. Gaugler’s research career has focused on invertebrate pathology, where he pioneered the development of molecular tools that culminated in the first field release of a genetically-engineered insect natural enemy, an advance ranked as a “Top Ten Research Milestone from 1862-2005” by the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. He has published 220 scientific papers and three books, lectured in more than forty countries, received $14 million to support his studies, served on the editorial boards of six journals, and holds patents and licenses for nine biological insecticide products in six countries across three continents. Gaugler is recipient of many national and international honors including the prestigious Albert Einstein award from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a Fulbright Scholar, the inaugural Henry L. Bolley Alumni Achievement Award from North Dakota State University, and elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Entomological Society of America, and Society of Nematologists.