Huffaker graduated from the University of Tennessee  BS  MSthen gaininig a PhD from Ohio State University in  He worked as a medical entomologist in Colombia Haiti and the Dominican Republic His strength in both entomology and botany led to his recruitment in  by the Division of Biological Control of the University of California to be a specialist in population ecology emphasizing the biological control of weeds He was stationed at Berkeley with the group serving in the universitys Division of Biological Control Quarantine Station This station later became the Division of Biological Control of the former Department of Entomological Sciences He remained at Berkeley until his retirement in