Constantine John Alexopoulos
Constantine John Alexopoulos | |
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University of Illinois |
Constantine John Alexopoulos (March 17, 1907 – May 15, 1986) was an American
Education
Although born in the United States of America, Alexopoulos studied in Athens until the beginning of high school, when he returned to his birthplace of Chicago in October 1919.
Career
Alexopoulos obtained his Ph.D. degree at the beginning of the Great Depression, a period of unprecedented economic crisis in the US.[1] After his former Ph.D. advisor Frank Lincoln Stevens had a heart attack,[1] Alexopoulos started to work as a full-time instructor teaching classes in mycology from 1934 to 1935,[2] when he was hired by Kent State University (KSU)[1] as an instructor in Biology.[3] During this job, Alexopoulos met his soon-to-be wife Juliet Dowdy.[1] After KSU, Alexopoulos worked in Greece at the Institute of Chemistry and Agriculture, and in Brazil at the Rubber Development Corporation.[1] In 1947, Alexopoulos started working at Michigan State University (MSU), where he published the first edition of Introductory Mycology in 1952.[1] He worked as a full professor at MSU from 1952 to 1956, when he moved to the University of Iowa.[2] In 1962, Alexopoulos took a position as a faculty member at University of Texas at Austin,[2] where he spent the rest of his career, and where he died.[1] In 1939 he married Juliet Dowdy, a music instructor.[1][2]
Scientific production and contribution
Alexopoulos identified and named several species like Echinostelium elachiston,[4] Echinostelium cribrarioides,[5] Physarella oblonga f. alba,[6] and higher taxa, such as Acrasiogymnomycotina.[7] He participated in 85 publications during his life, half of which focused on Myxomycetes.[2] A list of his most notable publications is shown below.[8][1] Besides the utmost important Introductory Mycology, his work in collaboration with Storck regarding Fungi DNA was also extremely important, as one of the pioneers in comparing the proportion of guanine and cytosine content of Fungi DNA for taxonomic purposes [9]
Papers and reviews
- Taxonomic studies in the Myxomycetes .5. Significance of peridial and spore ornamentations in the genus Tubifera, with a revised key to the species. Nelson, RK; Scheetz, RW; Alexopoulos, CJ Mycologia volume: 74 issue: 4 pages: 541-548 published: 1982
- Deoxyribonucleic acid of fungi. Storck, R; Alexopoulos, CJ. Bacteriological reviews volume: 34 issue: 2 pages: 126-+ published: 1970
- The Myxomycetes II. Alexopoulos, CJ. Botanical review volume: 29 issue: 1 pages: 1-78 published: 1963
- Gross morphology of the plasmodium and its possible significance in the relationships among the Myxomycetes. Alexopoulos, CJ. Mycologia volume: 52 issue: 1 pages: 1-20 published: 1960
- Nucleotide composition of deoxyribonucleic acid of some species of Cryptococcus rhodotorula and Sporobolomyces. Storck, R; Alexopoulos, CJ; Phaff, HJ. Journal of Bacteriology volume: 98 issue: 3 pages: 1069-+ published: 1969
Books
- Introductory Mycology. Alexopoulos, CJ; Mims, CW. 1952. John Wiley & Sons, First Edition.
- The Myxomycetes. Martin, GW; Alexopoulos, CJ. 1969. Univ. Iowa Press
- Algae and Fungi. Alexopoulos, CJ. 1967. New York, Macmillan
Academic connections
Alexopoulos had 40 students during his academic life, including Master's, doctoral and post-doctoral students.
Memberships, positions and awards
Alexopoulos' career granted him recognition by many different organizations around the globe. Alexopoulos received honors such as the
References
- ^ .
- ^ .
- ^ ISBN 9031302244.
- JSTOR 3756035.
- JSTOR 2423038.
- JSTOR 3756359.
- ^ Alexopoulos, CJ; Mims, CW (1979). Introductory Mycology. Wiley. p. 38.
- ^ "Web of Science - Please Sign In to Access Web of Science". webofknowledge.com. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
- PMID 5528264.
- ^ Jones, Timothy M. "Meredith Blackwell Bio at Herbarium of Louisiana State University". www.herbarium.lsu.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-10-27. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
- JSTOR 3760622.
- ^ "Plants Get Sick, Too". www.apsnet.org. Archived from the original on 2017-11-22. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
- ^ America, Mycological Society of. "Alexopoulos Prize". msafungi.org. Archived from the original on 2018-01-27. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
- ^ Blackwell, Meredith (2006). "C.J.A. –The last mycologist to be BSA President". Plant Science Bulletin. 52: 2–11.