Franz Oberwinkler (22 May 1939 in

Bad Reichenhall Bad Reichenhall (; Central Bavarian: ''Reichahoi'') is a spa town, and administrative center of the Berchtesgadener Land district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. It is located near Salzburg in a basin encircled by the Chiemgau Alps (including Mount Stau ...

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (, ; ) is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat of the district gove ...

– 15 March 2018 in

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

) was a German

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

, specialising in the fungal

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

and

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or Taxon, taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, M ...

basidiomycetes Basidiomycota () is one of two large division (mycology), divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. Mor ...

. Oberwinkler earned his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1965 at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

studying under Josef Poelt. From 1967 to 1974 he was a research assistant and lecturer at the Institute of Systematic Botany, University of Munich, becoming professor in 1972. Between 1968–1969 Oberwinkler was Scientific Expert of the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

at the ''Instituto Forestal Latino-Americano'' in Mérida,

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. In 1974 he was appointed as successor to Karl Mägdefrau as Chair of Systematic Botany and Mycology at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

and from 1974 until his retirement in 2008 he was head of the University's botanic garden,

Botanischer Garten der Universität Tübingen The Botanischer Garten der Universität Tübingen, also known as the Botanischer Garten Tübingen or the Neuer Botanischer Garten Tübingen, is a botanical garden and arboretum maintained by the University of Tübingen. It is located at Hartmeyer ...

. In 2002 he became the founding

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

, '' Mycological Progress''. Between 1962 and 2010 he authored and co-authored 340 publications. Oberwinkler retired in 2008 becoming

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

of the university's 'Organismic Botany Group' and he continued as editor-in-chief of the journal. He was the recipient of several awards, including the de Bary medal of the

International Mycological Association The International Mycological Association (IMA) is a professional organization that promotes mycology, the study of fungi. It was founded in 1971 during the first International Mycological Congress, which was held in Exeter (UK). The IMA publis ...

(IMA) in 2010. Several fungal

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

are named in his honour including the species '' Amanita oberwinklerana'', '' Sphaerobasidioscypha oberwinkleri'', '' Thecaphora oberwinkleri'', '' Uromyces oberwinklerianus'', and the genera '' Oberwinkleria'' and '' Oberwinklerozyma''. He was a member of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick University in Christiania was establis ...

from 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oberwinkler, Franz 1939 births 2018 deaths German mycologists Academic staff of the University of Tübingen People from Bad Reichenhall Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Presidents of the International Mycological Association

See also

References