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Spring 1987 York Lecturer Biographical Sketch:

Dr. A. Carl Leopold
Distinguished Scientist,
Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research

"Life in the Dry State: The Physiology of Seeds"

Dr. A. Carl Leopold is widely recognized as a pioneer in the second wave of plant development and seed physiology research. He is noted for innovative research on phytohormones, chemical regulators that govern plant growth and development.

The 58-year-old scientist received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Botany in 1941 at the University of Wisconsin. He served in the Pacific Theater during World War II, reaching the rank of captain. In 1947 he was awarded a Master of Arts degree from Harvard University. A Ph.D. from that institution followed in 1947.

Dr. Leopold began his career in 1948 as an assistant horticulturist with the Hawaiian Pineapple Company. He became an assistant professor of physiology in horticultural crops at Purdue University in 1949. In 1955, he was named professor. In 1974 he became senior policy analyst for the Science and Technology Policy Office of the National Science Foundation.

In 1975 Dr. Leopold was named Dean of the Graduate College and Assistant Vice President for Research at the University of Nebraska. Two years later he was named Distinguished Scientist for the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research in Ithaca, New York. The privately endowed research institute, affiliated with Cornell University, conducts long-term research relevant to the food supply of Third World nations.

Dr. Leopold is the author of three books and more than 200 published research papers. His text, Plant Growth and Development, is recognized as a classic. Currently in its second edition, the book has been translated into Hindi, Chinese, Arabic, and Malay. A 1969 paper on plant physiology won a "Citation Classic Award" in 1985 from the Institute for Scientific Information as a most-cited paper.

Dr. Leopold has varied interests outside his research areas. He has recently written about the militarization of science, and he is an active member of the Union for Concerned Scientists. He recently testified about the proposed Strategic Defensive Initiative (SDI) before a U.S. Senate committee.

As the son of Aldo Leopold, the father of modern wildlife ecology management, it is perhaps natural that he holds a deep and abiding interest in preserving the environment. He is a member of the Sierra Club and the Nature Conservancy and is active in local conservation organizations. He is also a member of the National Society for the Classic Guitar.

Dr. Leopold currently is exploring two major research interests: basic seed physiology and the mechanics of gravity-sensing in plants. "We hope to develop basic information about seed physiology--the way seeds work--that will ultimately be useful in the management of seed banks and in seed preservation," he said. The gravitropism research, which has NASA sponsorship, explores the way that gravity affects plant development.

Among his professional organizations, Dr. Leopold is a member of the American Society of Plant Physiologists, serving as president in 1966 and on the editorial board from 1956-66 and 1973-74. He is a member of Sigma Xi and served as president of the Purdue Chapter in 1962. He is on the governing board of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also a member of the Association for the Advancement of Aging Research and the Crop Science Society of America.

-Biography Originally Compiled March 10, 1987

 

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