Frank Dunn Kern

Frank Dunn Kern 1883 - 1973 was an American plant pathologist and university administrator. He was a faculty member at Pennsylvania State University, holding appointments as Head of the Department of Botany and Dean of the Graduate School. He was an expert on the Pucciniales (rust fungi).

Frank Dunn Kern
Born(1883-06-29)29 June 1883
Reinbeck, Iowa, USA
Died28 September 1974(1974-09-28) (aged 91)
Alma materColumbia University
Known forPucciniales
Children2
Scientific career
Fieldsmycology; plant pathology
InstitutionsPurdue Agricultural Experiment Station; Pennsylvania State University
ThesisA Biologic and Taxonomic Study of the Genus Gymnosporangium (1911)

Personal life

Frank Dunn Kern was born 29 June 1883 in Reinbeck, Iowa, USA. He graduated from University of Iowa with a bachelor's degree in 1904 and a master's degree from Purdue University in 1907[1] His doctorate was awarded by Columbia University in 1911.[2]

He married and had two daughters.[2]

After retirement he continued to live in State College and he died there on September 28, 1973.[1]

Career

Kern worked in several places between 1904 and 1913. These included for the United States Department of Agriculture, the Purdue Agricultural Experimental Station,[1] the New York Botanical Garden and (in 1910) as a Fellow in Botany at Columbia University. His doctoral thesis was submitted successfully to Columbia University in 1911.[2] He was an instructor at Purdue University from 1910 until he was appointed to the faculty of Pennsylvania State College in 1913, where he stayed for the rest of his career. He became Head of the Botany Department[3] and in 1922 was appointed Dean of the new Graduate School.[1] From 1925 - 1926 and 1933 - 1934 Kern was Acting Dean of the Colleges of Agriculture and Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico.[2]

Kern's research and expertise was in plant pathology, especially the rust fungi. He worked on the genus Gymnosporangium (cedar apple rusts) until his death.[2] He undertook a number of visits to explore the fungi of Southern America. These including collaboration with Carlos E. Chardón to explore the rust and smut fungi of Puerto Rico[4] as well as other collaborations about rusts in Venezuela, Colombia and Santo Domingo.[2]

In 1908 he was among the founding members of the American Phytopathological Society, acting as vice president in 1914, and in 1922 was the author of the first publication in the Society's scientific journal Phytopathology.[2]

He retired in 1950.[1]

Publications

Kern was author or co-author of over 80 scientific publications, including 20 after his retirement and 2 posthumously.[2] Among the most significant are:

Kern, Frank D., (1947) The Essentials Of Plant Biology Harper & Brothers Publishers

Kern, Frank D., Revised Taxonomic Account of the Genus Gymnosporangium. (revised edition 1973) Pennsylvania State University Press.

Kern, F. D. and H. H. Whetzel. (1926) Some New and Interesting Porto Rican Rusts. Mycologia 18 39-47

Kern, F. D. (1928) Fungi of Santo Domingo II. Uredinales. Mycologia. 20 60–82.

Awards and recognition

He was awarded D Sc by University of Puerto Rico in 1926.[2]

In 1945 he was president of the Mycological Society of America and vice-president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[3]

Two fungal genera, Kernella Thirum. within the Pucciniaceae and Kerniomyces Toro. within the Schizothyriaceae, are named after him.[5]

Legacy

In 1971 the new new graduate center at Penn State University was named the Kern Graduate Building.[1]

References
  1. Fergus, C L; Schein, K D; Boyle, John S (1974). "Frank Dunn Kern 1883 - 1973". Mycologia. 66 (5): 739–742. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  2. Boyle, John S; Fergus, C Leonard; Schein, Richard D (1974). "Frank Dunn Kern, 1883-1973" (PDF). Phytopathology. 64 (6): 766. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  3. Kern, Frank D (1946). "Some bases for mycological progress". Mycologia. 38 (6): 609–620. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  4. Kern, F D; Whetzel, H H (1926). "Some New and Interesting Porto Rican Rusts". Mycologia. 18: 39–47.
  5. "Kern, Frank Dunn (1883-1973)". Global Plants. JSTOR. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.