William Frederick Grant (born October 20, 1924 – October 6, 2011) was a Canadian

plant geneticist A plant geneticist is a scientist involved with the study of genetics in botany. Typical work is done with genes in order to isolate and then develop certain plant traits. Once a certain trait, such as plant height, fruit sweetness, or tolerance to ...

, biosystematist, educator, and environmental advocate who developed higher plant species for monitoring and testing for mutagenic effects of

environmental pollutants Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

. He has carried out research on the

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

of species of the genus

Lotus Lotus may refer to: Plants *Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: ** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae **Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...

(Leguminosae) and the forage species '' Lotus corniculatus'' (birdsfoot trefoil) developing an innovative procedure for increasing seed production in the legume birdsfoot trefoil.

Biography

Born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1947 from McMaster University and a master's degree in 1949. In 1953, he received a PhD degree from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. In 1953, he was appointed

botanist 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 wo ...

to the Department of Agriculture,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, through the Colombo Technical Cooperation Program under the operation of the Canadian Department of External Affairs, Ottawa. Since 1995 he has been a co-director of the International Program on Plant Bioassays in the use of

higher plants Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...

in the testing for environmental mutagens in the global environment.

References

External links

Canadian Who’s WhoColombo Plan for Technical Co-operationInternational Organization of Plant BiosystematistsLotus NewsletterLotus corniculatus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, William F. 1924 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Canadian botanists McMaster University alumni University of Virginia alumni Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian expatriates in Malaysia