Abstract Detail

Charles Heiser Special Contributed Paper Session

Anderson, Gregory [1], Pickersgill, Barbara [2], Kephart, Susan [3].

Charles Bixler Heiser, Jr.: A Productive and Inspirational Scientist .

Charles Bixler Heiser, Jr. learned to love Indiana and plant study during early experiences on his grandparent's farm in southern Indiana. That interest became focused on plant evolution, systematics, and "economic botany" under the inspiration of Edgar Anderson and Robert Woodson at Washington University and the Missouri Botanical Garden. The intriguing sunflowers and hybrids present in the vacant lots of St. Louis later became the focus of his doctoral research at UC Berkeley where he was influenced by Lincoln Constance, Herbert Mason, Ledyard Stebbins and a cohort of outstanding student colleagues. After finishing a Ph.D. in just three years, he returned to his home state to begin what became a lifelong professorship at Indiana University. His 120+ papers and six books not only record an impressive career but their influence is reflected in numerous awards,including membership in the NAS. All constitute evidence of the importance of his work. Beyond that written record,however, are the more than 60 formal students (30 PhDs) he mentored, and a very large number of others, each inspired to study and appreciate the diversity of wild and cultivated plants by his scientific publications, interpretive writing, and speaking for wider audiences. Examples of Heiser's impact are the focus of this introduction, that is part overview, and part personal reflections.

Broader Impacts:

1 - University Of Connecticut, Department Of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 75 N. Eagleville Road, Unit 43, Storrs, CT, 06269-3043, USA
2 - University of Reading, School of Biological Sciences, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 2AS, United Kingdom
3 - WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY, Department Of Biology, SALEM, OR, 97301, USA

Keywords:
economic botany
pollination
evolution
systematics
SolanaceaeSolanaceae
Nightshades
Weeds
GourdsGourds
Asteraceae
Helianthus
Capsicum.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 03
Location: Lindell D/Chase Park Plaza
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2011
Time: 8:00 AM
Number: 03001
Abstract ID:304