Irwin Murray Brodo (born November 7, 1935 in New York City) is an

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who 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". In some c ...

scientist at the

Canadian Museum of Nature The Canadian Museum of Nature (; CMN) is a national museums of Canada, national natural history museum based in Canada's National Capital Region (Canada), National Capital Region. The museum's exhibitions and public programs are housed in the Vi ...

, in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. He is an authority on the identification and biology of

lichens A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

Early life and education

Brodo grew up in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

and attended City College in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

as an undergraduate. He went on to do his

graduate studies Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. He earned a Ph.D. in lichenology under the supervision of Henry Imshaug at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

Career and research

In 1965, Brodo was hired by the National Museum of Canada (now the

), where he continues to work as a research scientist emeritus. Over his career, he has built the lichen collection (CANL) into one of the best in North America. His research includes in-depth studies on challenging genera such as ''

Bryoria ''Bryoria'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Parmeliaceae. Many members of this genus are known as horsehair lichens. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in taiga, boreal and cool temperate areas. Taxonomy ''Bryoria ...

'', ''

Lecanora ''Lecanora'' is a genus of lichen commonly called rim lichens.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, Lichens in the genus '' Squamarina'' are also called rim lichens. Members of the genus have roughly c ...

'', and ''

Ochrolechia ''Ochrolechia'' is the sole genus in the fungus, fungal family Ochrolechiaceae. It comprises about 40 species of crustose lichens. These lichens typically form uneven, often thick, crust-like growths on various surfaces and are characterised by t ...

''. His 1968 work on the lichens of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

and the effects of

air pollutant Air pollution is the presence of substances in the air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be gases like ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles like soot and dust. It affects both outdoor ...

s was pioneering in the field. In 1970, Brodo started to edit the

exsiccata Exsiccata (Latin, ''gen.'' -ae, ''plur.'' -ae) is a work with "published, uniform, numbered set of preserved specimens distributed with printed labels". Typically, exsiccatae are numbered collections of dried herbarium Biological specimen, spe ...

series ''Lichenes Canadenses exsiccati''.

Selected publications

Brodo's list of publications includes approximately 100 scientific articles, 8 popular articles, 22 reviews and 6 editorials and obituaries. One of his great achievements was the publication in 2001 of the 795 page book, '' Lichens of North America'' with high-quality photographs of lichens taken by Sylvia Sharnoff and Stephen Sharnoff. It won the 2002

National Outdoor Book Award The National Outdoor Book Award (NOBA) was formed in 1997 as an American-based non-profit program which each year presents awards honoring the best in outdoor writing and publishing. It is housed at Idaho State University and chaired by Ron Watte ...

(Nature Guidebook). In 2016, the trio, with additional collaborator Susan Laurie-Bourque, produced ''Keys to Lichens of North America: Revised and Expanded''. More recently, Brodo has published ''Keys to Lichens of North America'', a spiral-bound workbook of over 400 pages including keys to 2045 species.

Teaching and mentorship

Brodo has taught at

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

and the

University of Alaska The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-, sea-, and space-grant research university in College, Alaska, United States, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was e ...

, and he also supervised

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

students at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

and

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

. He has also taught graduate-level courses and given numerous introductory workshops, including a popular field-course on crustose lichens at the Eagle Hill Institute in coastal

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

Professional Leadership

Brodo has held several leadership positions in professional organizations. He served as President of the International Association for Lichenology for a four-year term, President of the

American Bryological and Lichenological Society The American Bryological and Lichenological Society is an organization devoted to the scientific study of all aspects of the biology of bryophytes and lichen-forming fungi and is one of the nation's oldest botanical organizations. It was original ...

for a two-year term, and Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal '' The Bryologist'' for several years. He has also been involved in public service, including work with the

Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club was founded in 1863 and incorporated in 1879. It is the oldest natural history society in Canada. It has over 800 members, with interests in all aspects of the natural world, from birds, to insects, to botany, a ...

and the Ottawa-Hull chapter of the

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) () was founded in 1963 to help protect Canada's wilderness. Activities CPAWS, initially known as the National and Provincial Parks Association (NPPAC), was formed in 1963, with a focus on revi ...

Honors and awards

Brodo has received numerous honors throughout his career. In 1994, he was honored with an Acharius Medal presented to him by the International Association for Lichenology. In 1993, Brodo was awarded the Mary E. Elliot Service Award for his meritorious service to the Canadian Botanical Association — and in 2003, for lifetime achievement, the association's George Lawson Medal. In 2013, Brodo was presented with an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from Carleton University, "in recognition of his distinguished career in lichenology and scientific leadership in the international biosystematics community".

Eponyms

A lichen genus and several lichen

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 ...

have been named to honor Brodo. These

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

s include: *'' Brodoa'' ; '' Bactrospora brodoi'' '' Lecanora brodoana'' ; '' Megalaria brodoana'' ; ''Bryoria trichodes'' subsp. ''brodoana'' ; '' Lecidea brodoana'' ; '' Ochrolechia brodoi'' ; '' Lepraria brodoi'' ; '' Rinodina brodoana'' ; '' Acarospora brodoana'' ; '' Alectoria brodoana'' ; '' Bryoria irwinii'' ; and '' Catinaria brodoana'' .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brodo, Irwin Murray Canadian lichenologists 1935 births 20th-century Canadian biologists 20th-century Canadian botanists Columbia University alumni Cornell University alumni Michigan State University alumni Living people Acharius Medal recipients 21st-century Canadian biologists 21st-century Canadian botanists Canadian taxonomists