For his contributions as an entomologist who has worked to reduce the use of pesticides on agricultural products.
David Gillespie has helped to ensure food safety for Canadians. An entomologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University, he conducted pioneering research on the ecological interactions between predators and prey and their agricultural hosts. He applied his research findings to the farming industry and developed pesticide-free management strategies that have been widely adopted by commercial greenhouse operations in Canada and abroad. As a result, he has been instrumental in significantly reducing pesticide use on our greenhouse vegetable crops and in increasing our understanding of the use of natural enemies for biological control.