Leif Tibell (born 16 November 1944) is a Swedish lichenologist and

Emeritus Professor ''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 ...

at the

University of Uppsala Uppsala University (UU) () is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially founded in the 15th century, the university rose to s ...

. He is known for his expertise on calicioid lichens. He was awarded the

Acharius Medal __NOTOC__ The Acharius Medal is awarded by the International Association for Lichenology (IAL) for lifetime achievement in lichenology. The organization resolved at its 1990 meeting that it would simultaneously honor professional achievement and ...

in 2012 for lifetime achievements in lichenology.

Biography

Tibell was born in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden, in 1944. He developed an interest in lichens at a young age after meeting the prominent lichenologist

Gunnar Degelius Gunnar Bror Fritiof Degelius (né Nilsson until 1932; 27 January 1903 – 22 July 1993) was a Swedish lichenologist. Between the publications of his first and final scientific papers, Degelius had a 70-year-long research career. While he was b ...

through the

Gothenburg Botanical Garden The Gothenburg Botanical Garden () is located in Gothenburg, Sweden, and is one of the larger botanical gardens in Europe. History The Gothenburg Botanical Garden is situated in a formerly completely rural area, where earlier a great country e ...

, where they were both members. Degelius mentored Tibell, and recommended to him that he should study the subject at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

, which he did after moving there in the mid 1960s. Cyphelium pinicola - Flickr - pellaea

He continued with

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 ...

under the supervision of

Rolf Santesson Rolf Santesson (1916–2013) was a Swedish lichenologist and university lecturer. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 1992 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology. Early life and education Santesson was born in 1916 in Trollhättan, Sw ...

after accompanying him on a research excursion to Norway's

Varanger Peninsula The Varanger Peninsula (; ; ) is a peninsula in Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the northeasternmost part of Norway, along the Barents Sea. The peninsula has the Tanafjorden to the west, the Varangerfjorden to the south, and the Bar ...

in 1966. Santesson was Curator of the Herbarium at the Botany Department. He was also the father of Johan Santesson, who knew Tibell through an

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

research group they were both part of. Rolf Santesson, who became Tibell's Ph.D. supervisor and second main mentor, suggested he should study

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

of the family

Caliciaceae The Caliciaceae are a family (taxonomy), family of mostly lichen-forming fungus, fungi belonging to the class (taxonomy), class Lecanoromycetes in the division (mycology), division Ascomycota. Although the family has had its classification chan ...

– the pin lichens. Tibell followed his advice and ultimately developed a long career that was largely dedicated to the study of this group. After earning a Ph.D. in 1975, Tibell accepted a position at the

Swedish Research Council The Swedish Research Council () is a Government agency in Sweden established in 2001, with the responsibility to support and develop basic scientific research. Its objective is for Sweden to be a leading nation in scientific research. The agen ...

that he held for many years. In 1978, he 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 ''Caliciales exsiccatae''. Tibell was later promoted to Senior

Lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

and ultimately

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

in 2000. As of 2021, he is an

with the Department of Organismal Biology at Uppsala University.

Recognition

Tibell was awarded the

in 2012. Swedish botanist Mats Wedin noted that another prominent Swedish lichenologist,

Erik Acharius Erik Acharius (10 October 1757 – 14 August 1819) was a Swedish botanist who pioneered the Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of lichens and is known as the "father of lichenology". Acharius was famously the last pupil of Carl Linnaeus. Life Ac ...

(for whom the medal is named), published one of the earliest taxonomic

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

s in lichenology also on the subject of calicioid lichens. Tibell had a

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

dedicated to him in celebration of his 60th birthday in 2004.

Eponyms

Several

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 in honour of Tibell. These include: '' Leifidium'' ; '' Tibellia'' ; '' Atla tibelliorum'' ; '' Caloplaca tibellii'' ; '' Chaenothecopsis leifiana'' ; '' Chaenothecopsis tibellii'' ; '' Chapsa tibellii'' ; '' Choreospora tibellii'' ; '' Dimerella tibellii'' ; '' Diorygma tibellii'' ; '' Hypotrachyna tibellii'' ; '' Lecanactis tibelliana'' ; '' Phaeocalicium tibellii'' ; '' Plectocarpon tibellii'' ; '' Pronectria tibellii'' ; '' Pyrgillus tibellii'' ; '' Rinodina tibellii'' ; '' Sphaerophorus tibellii'' ; '' Xanthoparmelia tibellii'' ; and '' Xanthoria tibellii'' .

Selected publications

Some of Tibell's major publications include: * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tibell, Leif 1944 births Living people Scientists from Gothenburg Swedish lichenologists Swedish taxonomists Acharius Medal recipients Uppsala University alumni Academic staff of Uppsala University 20th-century Swedish biologists 21st-century Swedish biologists

Biography

Recognition

Eponyms

Selected publications

See also

References