Jorge Eduardo Wright (20 April 1922 – 2005) was an Argentine

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 ...

. Born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, he graduated from the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

in 1949. He was awarded a Latin American

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

and studied under Alexander H. Smith at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, under whom he received his

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

in 1955. A year later he was awarded his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

from the University of Buenos Aires based on his research on the

gasteromycetes The gasteroid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota. Species were formerly placed in the obsolete class Gasteromycetes Fr. (literally "stomach fungi"), or the equally obsolete order Gasteromycetales Rea, because they produce spores insi ...

and other

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 ...

. Wright became a full professor in systematic botany at this university in 1960, a position he held until his retirement in 1988. During his career, he published over 120 scientific articles and several books. In 1966, botanist

Zdeněk Pouzar Zdeněk Pouzar (13 April 1932 – 4 June 2023) was a Czech mycologist. Along with František Kotlaba, he published several works about the taxonomy of polypore, corticioid, and gilled fungi. Pouzar was a noted expert on stromatic pyrenomycetes ...

published a genus of

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Bondarzewiaceae The Bondarzewiaceae are a family of fungi in the order Russulales. The type species for both its genus and the family as a whole, ''Bondarzewia montana'', closely resembles members of Polyporales (and was formerly placed there), but has ornament ...

, as '' Wrightoporia'' in Wright's honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Jorge Eduardo 1922 births 2005 deaths Argentine mycologists University of Buenos Aires alumni Academic staff of the University of Buenos Aires University of Michigan alumni Argentine expatriates in the United States