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The Acharius Medal is awarded by the

International Association for Lichenology The International Association for Lichenology (IAL) is an organisation that encourages the understanding of lichens and lichenology, and promotes their study and conservation worldwide. It unites lichenologists across the globe, as well as national ...

(IAL) for lifetime achievement in

lichenology Lichenology is the branch of mycology that studies the lichens, symbiotic organisms made up of an intimate symbiotic association of a microscopic alga (or a cyanobacterium) with a filamentous fungus. Study of lichens draws knowledge from several ...

. The organization resolved at its 1990 meeting that it would simultaneously honor professional achievement and commemorate

Erik Acharius Erik Acharius (10 October 1757 – 14 August 1819) was a Swedish botanist who pioneered the taxonomy of lichens and is known as the "father of lichenology." Acharius was famously the last pupil of Carl Linnaeus. Life Acharius was born in 1 ...

(recognized as the "Father of Lichenology") by presenting a medal in his name. The first Acharius Medal was made in 1846 by the Royal Swedish Mint for the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, although the original purpose for that medal is not known. Because the Swedish Mint still had the dies for the original medal, the IAL arranged for new medals to be made. The first of the new medals were awarded in that same year (1992) at the association's congress in Båstad, Sweden.

The medal

The medal is

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

, with Acharius' profile on one side and the recipient's name on the other.

Recipients

Source: 2021: *

Per Magnus Jørgensen Per Magnus Jørgensen (born 1944) is a Norwegian botanist and lichenologist, and Professor Emeritus of systematic botany at the University of Bergen. He is known for his work on the lichen families Pannariaceae and Collemataceae. Jørgensen wa ...

James D. Lawrey James Donald Lawrey is a biologist, specialising in lichens. He is known for leading long-term monitoring projects, taxonomy and studies of the evolution of the fungi in lichens. Early life and education After growing up in Rockville, Maryland, ...

2018: * William Alfred Weber 2016: * Thomas George Allan Green *

Josef Hafellner Josef Hafellner (1951– ) is an Austrian mycologist and lichenologist. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 2016 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology. Before his retirement, he was a professor at the Karl-Franzens-Universität in ...

* Bruce McCune 2014: *

Peter Crittenden Peter Crittenden is a British lichenologist. His research largely concerns the ecophysiology of lichens. Crittenden is known for using new techniques to study lichens, such as the use of 3D printing and X-ray computed tomography to study lichen ...

* Pier Luigi Nimis 2012: * Ana Crespo * Leif Tibell 2010: * Brian J. Coppins * Thomas Hawkes Nash 2008: * David J. Galloway *

Hannes Hertel Hannes Hertel is a German botanist and taxonomist and was Director of the State Herbarium in Munich, Germany 1992 - 2004. His specialist areas are the fungi and lichens. Early life and education Hannes Hertel was born in 1939. His doctorate was ...

* Rosmarie Honegger 2006: * Mark R. D. Seaward 2004: * John A. Elix * Ludger Kappen * Marie-Agnès Letrouit-Galinou 2003 * David C. Smith 2002: * David L. Hawksworth 2000: *

Teuvo Ahti Teuvo ("Ted") Tapio Ahti (born 1934) is a Finnish botanist and lichenologist. He has had a long career at the University of Helsinki that started in 1963, and then following his retirement in 1997, at the Botanical Museum of the Finnish Museum ...

* Georges Clauzade * Nina Golubkova 1996: * Vernon Ahmadjian * Siegfried Huneck *

Christian Leuckert Christian Leuckert was a lichen taxonomist who applied the diversity of secondary metabolites within lichens as useful taxonomic criteria. He was Director of the Institute of Plant Systematics and Plant Geography at the Free University of Berl ...

1994: * Irwin M. Brodo * Margalith Galun * Syo Kurokawa * Elisabeth Tschermak-Woess 1992: * Dharani Dhar Awasthi * Chicita F. Culberson * William L. Culberson *

Gunnar Degelius Gunnar Bror Fritiof Degelius (né Nilsson until 1932; 27 January 1903 – 22 July 1993) was a Swedish lichenologist. Between the publications of his first and final scientific papers, Degelius had a 70-year-long research career. While he was ...

* Aino Henssen *

Peter Wilfred James Peter Wilfred James (1930–2014) was an English botanist and lichenologist. He was a pioneer in the study of lichens as environmental indicators, especially of atmospheric pollution. Early life and education Peter W. James grew up in Sutton Co ...

Hildur Krog Hildur Krog (22 March 1922 – 25 August 2014) was a Norwegian botanist. She was born in Modum. She took the dr.philos. degree in 1968 with a thesis on Alaskan lichens, was hired as a curator at the Botanical Museum of Oslo in 1971 and served as ...

* Otto Ludwig Lange *

Josef Poelt Josef Poelt was a botanist, bryologist and lichenologist. He held the chair in Systematic Botany and Plant Geography at the Free University of Berlin (1965 - 1972) and then was head of the Botanical Institute and Botanical Garden of Graz Universi ...

* Rolf Santesson * John W. Thomson *

Hans Trass Hans-Voldemar Trass (2 May 1928 – 14 February 2017) was an Estonian ecologist and botanist. He was a member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences since 1975 and president of the Estonian Naturalists' Society from 1964 to 1973 and 1985 to 1991. ...

* Antonin Vězda

References

External links

List of Acharius Medal recipients
{{Recipients of the Acharius Medal Biology awards Lichenology Lifetime achievement awards Awards established in 1990 Awards of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

The medal

Recipients

See also

References

External links