Jorge Eduardo Wright (20 April 1922 – 2005) was an Argentinian

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their genetics, genetic and biochemistry, biochemical properties, their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and ethnomycology, their use to humans, including as a so ...

. Born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, he graduated from the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...

in 1949. He was awarded a Latin American

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

and studied under Alexander H. Smith at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, under whom he received his

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree in

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

in 1955. A year later he was awarded his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

from the University of Buenos Aires based on his research on the gasteromycetes and other

basidiomycetes Basidiomycota () is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Basi ...

. Wright became a full professor in systematic botany at this university in 1960, a position he held until his retirement in 1988. During his career, he published over 120 scientific articles and several books. In 1966, botanist

Zdeněk Pouzar Zdeněk Pouzar (born 13 April 1932) is a Czech mycologist. Along with František Kotlaba, he published several works about the taxonomy of polypore, corticioid, and gilled fungi. Pouzar is a noted expert on stromatic pyrenomycetes. Until 2012, he ...

published a genus of

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Bondarzewiaceae, as ''

Wrightoporia ''Wrightoporia'' is a genus of fungi in the family Bondarzewiaceae. According to a 2008 estimate, the widely distributed genus contains 23 species. The genus was circumscribed by Zdeněk Pouzar in Ceská Mykol. vol.20 on page 173 in 1966. The ge ...

'' in Wright's honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Jorge Eduardo 1922 births 2005 deaths Argentine mycologists University of Buenos Aires alumni University of Buenos Aires faculty University of Michigan alumni Argentine expatriates in the United States