Annakkili Amma Research Institute (AARI)

  Prof. Paul Claude Silva      Prof. Paul Claude Silva, with whom, I had a brief interaction during 2010 when I came across a specimen of Codium collected from one of the islands of Gulf of Kutch. It was so different from the rest of the species, I encountered before, in its gross morphology and anatomy as well, that I thought of describing it as new species. However, before that, I just wanted to confirm, if my conclusion of it being new species is true or not. And who could have been better than Prof. Paul Silva - a leading authority on Codium - to confirm. To my great surprise, Prof. Silva replied instantly to my email and send me some literature on similar species described before offering me help to prepare a manuscript, unfortunately, which never happened and the species still remained undescribed. Paul was born in San Diego, California, USA, on 31 October 1922. After graduation, and a one-year post-doctoral fellowship investigating sewage treatment-pond alg...

  W. A. Setchell N. L. Gardner      I am sure everyone who is into the business of identifying seaweeds must have come across the names, Setchell et Gardner. At least when I described Ulva taeniata from Malvan in 2007, I was curious to know more about these two amazing Phycologists. They together described more than 670 species and infraspecific taxa from at least 110 genera, 40 of which were new to science. Thus the pair remembered for their joint legacy. They were of the same age, had the same interest, and spent their phycological career at the Department of Botany and Herbarium of the University of California at Berkeley. The careers of two men were inextricable; their talents and abilities were in part congruent and in part complementary.  William Albert Setchell was born in Norwich, Connecticut on April 15, 1864, into a family that had deep roots in New England. He had an early interest in natural history in particular Botany. Apart from marine algae, h...

Scientist of the Week Dr. Josephine Tilden: Scientist of the week Dr. Josephine Tilden (24 March 1869 to15 May 1957) was one of the most enthusiastic and dedicated phycologist; indefatigable as a teacher, researcher, and bibliographer. She was born on March 24, 1869, in Davenport, Iowa, US. Tilden believed strongly in the equality of women and despite many obstacles never let her gender impede her from pursuing her remarkable career. Prof. Conway MacMillan introduced her to the world of algae at the University of Minnesota.  In 1894 she prepared and distributed the first 'Century  (100 species) of her American Algae, an exsiccate that eventually included 32,500 specimens of both freshwater and marine taxa. Tilden had an uncanny skill for finding superb collecting sites. Perhaps the most famous of her sites is Botanical Beach, an area located near Port Renfrew. Here she established the world-famous 'Minnesota Seaside Station' where she conducted Marine biology courses durin...