{"id":589,"date":"2010-09-09T16:46:48","date_gmt":"2010-09-09T20:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.wabash.edu\/fyi\/?p=589"},"modified":"2010-09-09T16:46:48","modified_gmt":"2010-09-09T20:46:48","slug":"589","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/2010\/09\/09\/589\/","title":{"rendered":"Wabash Scientist Earns Field’s Highest Honor"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
International Mycological Association President Pedro Crus congratulates Emory Simmons \u201941 on being awarded the highest honor the IMA bestows.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Steve Charles<\/em>\u2014Emory Simmons may be the most accomplished and esteemed scientist you\u2019ve never heard of.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s partly my fault for not drawing the Wabash community\u2019s attention to the fact that in the 10 years since we last wrote about him\u2014between his 80th and 90th birthdays\u2014he\u2019s been honored numerous times (including being named \u201cPresident for Life\u201d of his professional organization) and published (at the age of 87) his signature work.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s an almost inherent liability of his field of research: mycology. The study of fungi and molds. \u00a0And Simmons\u2019 own specialty\u2014the characterization of microscopic fungi\u2014is even more lost on the public.<\/p>\n

Which seems strange when you realize that it was the study of molds that gave us antibiotics such as penicillin, cyclosporin and other pharmaceuticals, not to mention the production of beer, wine, and, cheese. Dr. Simmons\u2019 particular specialty, the genus Al<\/em>ternaria,<\/em> includes species that are plant pathogens and others that cause hay fever and asthma. Throw in the most recent fuss about molds contaminating homes and businesses, and you\u2019d think we\u2019d start paying attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to be irritated, but now am amused, at the common reaction to my explanation of “mycology” as the study of fungi,\u201d Emory told us back in 2001<\/a>. \u201cThe range of response usually runs to finding spring morels and distinguishing between edible and poisonous mushrooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the real world, the estimate of fungus biomass is about two tons per human being in the overall biosphere. The unseen underground feeding mechanisms of fungi are the great recyclers: autumn leaves, cornstalk debris, mountains of trash, all returned to usable form mainly by fungi. No soil fungi, no trees and forests as we know them. No waving fields of grain. No escape from unforeseen pneumonia. No athlete’s foot. No bread, no booze. And on and on. Give us non-mushroom mycologists a break!\u201d<\/p>\n

Emory hasn\u2019t taken many breaks. Even after his official retirement, he continues as a research associate of the College. For many years we never knew where he\u2019d be next\u2014leading workshops, assisting colleagues in various countries or working with collections around the world. We first covered his career after he received an honorary doctorate from the King of Thailand!<\/p>\n

For his 90 birthday last spring he received a call from the president of the International Mycological Association (IMA) promising a surprise at the group\u2019s quadrennial congress in Edinburgh, Scotland this year.<\/p>\n

That surprise was the Ainsworth Medal for extraordinary service to international mycology, the highest honor a mycologist can receive and particularly rewarding as Emory was instrumental in founding the IMA. The photo here gives you some idea of the gravity of the event. The ovation began before the president could even finish reading the citation. You can read the nomination letter citing many of Dr. Simmons\u2019 accomplishments here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Two years ago he received the first-ever Johanna Westerdijk Award from the CBS Biodiversity Centre in the Netherlands for his outstanding contribution to the centre\u2019s collection and distinguished career in mycology.<\/p>\n

That award was in part in appreciation for the definitive volume on alternalia published in 2007\u2014 Alternaria: An Identification Manual<\/em>\u2014which took four years of 8-10 hour days for Simmons to complete and compiles much of his life\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

He claims to be slowing down a bit, although Emory has a strange way of showing it\u2014a companion lab book for his alternalia volume may be in the works, and then there\u2019s a \u201cby invitation only\u201d workshop he may be co-leading at Washington State\u2026<\/p>\n

When I asked him if he planned to continue his work, Emory said, “90 is just a number. Why not?”<\/p>\n

For decades, a Wabash man has been one of the most esteemed and accomplished mycologists in the world. Also one of the most humble. Emory Simmons is averse to self-promotion of any sort, and the only way we found out about his work\u00a0 10 years ago was because his friend Professor Emeritus Paul Mielke \u201942 thought we ought to know.<\/p>\n

It was his friend Professor Emeritus Dick Strawn who let us know about this latest award.<\/p>\n

And now, finally, you do, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steve Charles\u2014Emory Simmons may be the most accomplished and esteemed scientist you\u2019ve never heard of. That\u2019s partly my fault for not drawing the Wabash community\u2019s attention to the fact that in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"w_featured_image_url":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2010\/09\/simmonscrous72.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}