George Albert Llano (22 November 1911 – 9 February 2003), born Jorge Alberto Cecilio Perez y Llano, was a Cuban-born American polar explorer and botanist who specialized in the field of lichenology. He was an expert in the Umbilicariaceae.

Early life

Llano was born in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

in either 1910, according to baptismal records, or 1911, based on legal records. He immigrated to the United States in 1918. He obtained his undergraduate degree at Cornell University in 1935, and his master's degree at Teachers College, Columbia University in 1939. In 1949, he completed his Ph.D. in botany at Washington University in St. Louis under Carroll William Dodge.

Career

Llano took various jobs across the country before settling at the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

and working on the

International Geophysical Year The International Geophysical Year (IGY; french: Année géophysique internationale) was an international scientific project that lasted from 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific ...

. His experience in Antarctica led him to work for the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs in 1961. In 1972, he was promoted to Chief Scientist. His work in the Antarctic Biology and Medicine division was instrumental in establishing permanent Antarctic stations. He retired in 1977. After his retirement, Llano continued lecturing, guiding expeditions, and fundraising for researchers. Among his beneficiaries were

Ivan Mackenzie Lamb Elke Mackenzie (11 September 1911 – 18 January 1990), born Ivan Mackenzie Lamb, was a British polar explorer and botanist who specialised in the field of lichenology. Early life Mackenzie was born in Clapham, London, on 11 September 1911. Mack ...

and

Henry Andrew Imshaug Henry Andrew Imshaug (1925–2010) was an American lichenologist notable for work on the genus ''Buellia'' and his "enormous and important collections from the Rocky Mountains, Great Lakes region, West Indies and subantarctic islands, together wit ...

, who undertook notable lichenological expeditions. Llano died on 9 February 2003 of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

while cruising on the ''

Akademik Ioffe ''Akademik Ioffe'' is a research vessel, named after the Soviet physicist Abram Fedorovich Ioffe. Built in 1988, the vessel has a displacement of 6,600 tons, and a length of . ''Akademik Ioffe '' and ''Akademik Sergey Vavilov'' were built as a ...

''.

Legacy

The whale genus '' Llanocetus'' is named for Llano.

Mount Llano The Prince Olav Mountains is a mountain range of the Queen Maud Mountains in Antarctica stretching from Shackleton Glacier to Liv Glacier at the head of the Ross Ice Shelf. Discovered in 1911 by Roald Amundsen on the way to the South Pole, and nam ...

was also named in his honor. Carroll Dodge named some lichen species after him, including '' Buellia llanoi'' , ''

Lecania llanoi ''Lecania'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo in 1853. ''Lecania'' is widely distributed, especially in temperate regions, and contains about 64 species. Sp ...

'' , ''

Physcia llanoi ''Physcia'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Physciaceae. The genus name means "inflated" or "sausage-like", referring to the form of the type species. According to a 2008 estimate, the widespread genus contains 73 species. Species ...

'' , and ''

Thelidium llanoi ''Thelidium'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Verrucariaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 1855 by Italian lichenologist Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo, who assigned ''Thelidium amylaceum'' as the type species. Species *''Theli ...

'' . His

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

on the Umbilicariaceae is considered a seminal work in the field of lichenology. He has been credited for introducing the terms , , and to refer to different types of encountered in the Umbilicariaceae.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Llano, George Albert People from Havana Cuban botanists American lichenologists Cornell University alumni 1911 births 2003 deaths Cuban expatriates in the United States Teachers College, Columbia University alumni Washington University in St. Louis alumni