Luigi Provasoli (1908 – 30 October 1992) was an Italian phycologist, professor, and expert on the nutrition, physiology, and cultivation of

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

protozoa Protozoa (: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a polyphyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic debris. Historically ...

, and

invertebrates Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordate subphylum ...

Career

Provasoli attended the University of Milan and earned his degree in 1931. He continued his studies into

, silkworms and

flagellates A flagellate is a cell or organism with one or more whip-like appendages called flagellum, flagella. The word ''flagellate'' also describes a particular construction (or level of organization) characteristic of many prokaryotes and eukaryote ...

, and received his Ph.D. in zoology in 1939. After his graduation, he worked in the lab of Andre Lwoff at the

Pasteur Institute The Pasteur Institute (, ) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines for anthrax and rabies. Th ...

in Paris and developed a deep interest in algae. In 1942, he was appointed Professor at the

University of Camerino The University of Camerino () is a university located in Camerino, Italy. It is the best university of Italy among those with fewer than 10,000 students, according to the Guida Censis Repubblica 2011 and 2012 ranking. It claims to have been foun ...

. Provasoli emigrated to the U.S. with his American wife after the outbreak of

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was hired as an instructor at St. Francis College. By 1948, he was appointed Professor and Chairman of Biology. In 1951, Provasoli began collaborating with Seymour Hutner of

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

and

Caryl Haskins Caryl Parker Haskins (1908–2001) was an American scientist, author, inventor, philanthropist, governmental adviser and pioneering entomologist in the study of ant biology. Along with Franklin S. Cooper, he founded the Haskins Laboratories, a p ...

of Haskins Laboratories in Manhattan. In the 1960s, he served thrice on the

President's Science Advisory Committee The President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) was created on November 21, 1957, by President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower, as a direct response to the Soviet launching of the Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2 satellites. PSAC was an upgra ...

. He was president of the Phycological Society of America in 1961. In 1970, Provasoli moved with Haskins to

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

and began to research at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

's Osborn Memorial Laboratories. He remained with Haskins until 1981. He also taught at Yale from 1970 until his retirement in 1987. Provasoli served on the boards of the American Institute of Biological Science and the

American Type Culture Collection ATCC or the American Type Culture Collection is a nonprofit organization which collects, stores, and distributes standard reference microorganisms, cell lines and other materials for research and development. Established in 1925 to serve as a nati ...

, and also was an adviser to the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

and

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. Provasoli was the founding editor of the '' Journal of Phycology''. Over the course of his career, he published over 80 works.

Awards

In 1982, Provasoli received the Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal from the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

Legacy

The Phycological Society of America gives the Luigi Provasoli Award annually to authors of outstanding papers published in the ''Journal of Phycology''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Provasoli, Luigi 1908 births 1992 deaths Botanists with author abbreviations Haskins Laboratories scientists 20th-century Italian botanists Italian phycologists University of Milan alumni Yale University faculty Presidents of the Phycological Society of America