Armando Theodoro Hunziker (August 29, 1919 in Chacabuco, Argentina – December 12, 2001 in

Córdoba, Argentina Córdoba () is a city in central Argentina, in the foothills of the Punilla Valley, Sierras Chicas on the Primero River, Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province, Argentina, Córdoba Province a ...

) was an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines ...

botanist. He had specialized in the study of

systems biology Systems biology is the computational modeling, computational and mathematical analysis and modeling of complex biological systems. It is a biology-based interdisciplinary field of study that focuses on complex interactions within biological syst ...

of the

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

Solanaceae The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and o ...

, having contributed with a large number of investigations and publications.

Biography

He was born to a Swiss Argentine family. An aunt taught him

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, French,

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and

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. He studied

Agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and s ...

at the

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

, where he met his mentor, Prof.

Lorenzo R. Parodi Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo Stat ...

, who supervised his graduate thesis about the genus ''

Cuscuta ''Cuscuta'' (), commonly known as dodder or amarbel, is a genus of over 201 species of yellow, orange, or red (rarely green) parasitic plants. Formerly treated as the only genus in the family Cuscutaceae, it now is accepted as belonging in the ...

'', a parasite that affects wild and cultivated plants in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. At the age of 22, he received the first prize for his work ("Premio José Manuel de Altoaguirre") and one year later he received another prize ("Premio Eduardo Holmberg"). In 1945, at the age of 25, he was nominated

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of the Botanical Museum of the

National University of Córdoba The National University of Córdoba ( es, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba,) is an institution of higher education in the city of Córdoba, Argentina. Founded in 1613, the university is the oldest in Argentina, the third oldest university of th ...

, recommended by the

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winner in Medicine

Bernardo Alberto Houssay Bernardo Alberto Houssay (April 10, 1887 – September 21, 1971) was an Argentine physiologist. Houssay was a co-recipient of the 1947 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering the role played by pituitary hormones in regulating th ...

. Between 1949 and 1982 he was a professor in this university, having achieved the title of honored professor. In 1957 he received a prize from the National Commission for Culture for regional scientific production; in 1968 he received the "Weissmann Prize" and in 1983 the "Konex de Platino" prize. He participated in the creation of the

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where he worked as science and technology researcher, from 1963, as a member of the administration council in 1994 and as a senior researcher from 1998. In 1961 he founded the ''Kurtziana'' journal, of which he remained the editor until 1998. He worked abroad for several years. Between 1947 and 1954 at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, he performed research with Irving Widmer Bailey. In 1954 he worked under sponsorship of the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh la ...

in the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...

, England. From 1961 to 1962 and again from 1979 to 1980 he performed research in the United States, under sponsorship of the Guggenheim Foundation. In 1999 he was diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

and suspended all his other projects, in order to dedicate himself to his main work, the book ''Genera Solanacearum: The Genera of Solanaceae Illustrated, Arranged According to a New System'', which he managed to publish shortly before his death. During his life he published more than 150 scientific papers and described a great number of plant

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

. Including '' Orchis kellerii'' , and '' Capsicum eximium'' . One plant genus, '' Hunzikeria'' (in the family Solanaceae), also 11 species and one subspecies have been named in his honour.

Sources

* Anton, Ana M. 2002. "Armando T. Hunziker (1919 − 2001)"; ''Taxon'' 51: 393-403. * Hunziker, Armando T. 2001. ''The Genera of Solanaceae.'' A.R.G. Gantner Verlag K.G., Ruggell, Liechtenstein. .

External links

Premios Konex
* Anton A.M. & G.E. Barboz
Armando Theodoro Hunziker
''Acta Horticulturae'', ISHS * Hunziker Juan H. 2000
Some historical aspects of plant cytogenetics in Argentina and Uruguay
''Genetics and Molecular Biology'' 23 (4): 917-920. * Robertson Kenneth R.(Editor) 2000. "In Memoriam"

'. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunziker, Armando 1919 births 2001 deaths Harvard University staff Argentine scientists Argentine people of Swiss-German descent