Meredith M. Blackwell

Boyd Professor Emeritus. Expert on the biology and evolution of arthropod-associated fungi and slime molds. Broad approach led to the discovery of 300 new forms of insect-associated yeasts, a group for which only 800 other species had been previously known worldwide, despite their great economic importance as agents of fermentation and food spoilage. Phylogenetic analyses of the evolution of arthropod dispersal of fungal spores in relation to specialized substrates, and insights regarding spore dispersal by arthropods in general, helped bring new understanding of the life histories of certain fungi. Research on Gulf Coastal Plain organisms and energetic promotion of mycology regionally and internationally earned the Alexopoulos Prize and Distinguished Mycologist Award of the Mycological Society of America. Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, the British Mycological Society, and the Mycological Society of America. Outreach, including work on the Tree of Life Web project, shows how passionate, curiosity-driven basic research can increase appreciation of the diversity and beauty of organisms of great practical importance for humankind. Other projects include academic genealogy of mycologists and oral history for mycology interviews on YouTube.