Profile
Professor Butt has managed numerous projects funded by different sponsors, including RCUK, Defra, Royal Society, Welsh Government, British Council, EU, and industry. His research benefits many sectors (e.g. agriculture, horticulture, forestry, human and animal health). He conducts both fundamental and applied research. His fundamental research has demonstrated the importance of both immune and stress management genes in protecting insects against fungal pathogens. He is, however, best known for his work on entomopathogenic fungi (EPF). He has helped industry in the development of these natural, widespread fungi for the control of arthropod pests of socioeconomic importance. The work is timely, as EPF offer an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical pesticides many (>80%) of which have been withdrawn or restricted in use.
Prof Butt has published over 174 refereed papers in high-ranking journals, 14 book chapters and edited 2 books. He is often invited to give talks at international scientific meetings and has helped organise several scientific conferences. He engages with numerous industries. His networking events have led to new collaborations, consolidation of supply chains and development of new products. He produced high scoring REF Impact case studies for REF2014 and REF2021.
Professor Tariq Butt, Swansea UniversityIt has been an honour to help bring the New IPM Symposium to Swansea — an international conference that has grown into a key platform for sharing innovation in sustainable pest management and biological control. I’m equally proud that Swansea University is now home to Wales’s first UKRI-funded Green Economy Centre, the Natural Products BioHUB, which promotes the use and scale-up of nature-based solutions to support green growth and economic resilience. As an Ambassador, I look forward to helping position Wales at the forefront of global discussions on sustainable innovation, bioeconomy, and environmental stewardship.”
