Danny began his academic career as an undergraduate student at the University of Wyoming. Graduating through the Honors Program with a degree in Agroecology and an emphasis in Entomology, he took a position at Cedar Creek Ecological Science Reserve (CCESR, University of Minnesota), where he was a field technician for two summer seasons conducting plant biodiversity research with the BioCON and LTER projects. In Minnesota, he helped implement and monitor a long-standing savanna management experiment using prescribed fire.
Following his work at CCESR, Danny was admitted to Graduate School at OSU and completed his M.Sc. degree in the Department of Horticulture. The focus of his Master's research was to investigate disease resistance characteristics of black currants under the tutelage of Dr. Kim Hummer at the National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis.
Danny started out as a Senior Faculty Research Assistant I, Entomology, before transferring to the Horticulture graduate program, and currently works in the Horticultural Entomology Lab in the Department of Horticulture at OSU. His research interest is red blotch virus of grape. Since 2009 he has been a major contributor to research programs investigating the biology and control of the invasive vinegar fly, Drosophila suzukii (spotted wing drosophila). Danny was the chief field technician for a state-wide survey of Pseudococcus maritimus (grape mealybug), which is a known vector of grapevine leafroll-associated viruses in winegrapes. He has contributed auxiliary assistance to projects including mating disruption of Cydia latiferreana (filbertworm), biology of Halyomorpha halys (brown marmorated stinkbug), factors contributing to apple sunscald, and related projects that contribute to improvement of Pacific Northwestern horticultural crops.
