Almost gracing the century mark, Cornell alumnus and entomologist William Arthur Rawlins died Dec. 31, 2007, in Black Mountain, N.C., at the age of 99.

Born Dec. 5, 1908, in Geneva, N.Y., Rawlins earned both his undergraduate (B.S. Agriculture, 1930) and graduate (Ph.D. Economic Entomology, 1936) degrees at Cornell. He immediately joined the faculty in the Department of Entomology, where he stayed until retiring as professor emeritus in 1971.

Rawlins' research focused on the control of insects that plague potatoes and other vegetable crops. Early in his career he studied the use of DDT for potato insect control and methods to control insect vectors of viral diseases of potatoes and lettuce. He also studied use of soil insecticides and promoted crop rotation methods for soil insect control.

Over the years, Rawlins served in several foreign assignments. In 1947 he traveled to Poland through the United Nation's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to help plan a program to control a devastating infestation of Colorado potato beetles. He also served three assignments in India, one with the FAO (1950-51), one with the Rockefeller Foundation (1966-67) and then through the Ford Foundation (1969-70). Each trip created new connections between Indian colleagues and Cornell students.

As a sought-after professor and adviser, Rawlins taught classes on field techniques, vegetable insects and insect vector transmission of plant diseases.

Upon retirement, Rawlins and his wife, Alma, traveled widely before settling down in 1986 at Highland Farms Retirement Community in Black Mountain, N.C. There, he was an avid gardener who shared his surplus produce with fellow residents.

He is survived by a daughter, Phyllis, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. His wife, Alma, son Stephen and daughter Elizabeth predeceased him.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, Jan. 12, at 2 p.m. at Black Mountain Presbyterian Church. He will be buried at a later date in East Lawn Cemetery in Ithaca.