Plant Science Bulletin 59(2) 2013 Dr. Charles Beck University of Michigan Dr. Charles Beck is a distinguished paleontologist who has made remarkable discoveries in the history of land plants. He discovered that the fern-like leaves of the genus Archaeopteris were in fact borne on a tree (Callixylon) with the anatomy of a gymnosperm. This showed clearly that see plants must have been derived from free-sporing plants, and led to the identification of the progymnosperms, a group now included with gymnosperms and angiosperms in the larger clade, the lignophytes. One of the people who nominated Dr. Beck for the award quoted Henry Andrews in saying that this discovery “blazed a rough trail through a dark forest where no recognizable path existed before.” In addition, Dr. Beck is a skilled anatomist. After he “retired” from his position as Professor of Botany at University of Michigan, he continued research. In addition, he wrote a textbook, An introduction to plant structure and development, now in its second edition. Dr. Beck has also served as Chair of his department, Director of the Museum of Paleontology, and as President of the International Organization of Paleobotany, and as Chair of the Paleobotanical Section of the BSA.
Dr. Patrick Herendeen Chicago Botanic Garden By linking paleontology and neontology, Dr. Pat Herendeen, Co-Director of the Division of Plant Science and Conservation at the Chicago Botanic Garden, has made significant contributions to our understanding of the evolutionary history of the angiosperms, particularly the Leguminosae. He has edited three symposium volumes on the family, in addition to producing a steady stream of careful publications on fossil and extant legumes. In addition to his steady productive research, Dr. Herendeen has developed a truly remarkable career of service to the field of botany. He has been Chair of the Paleobotanical Section of BSA, Editor of the Bibliography of American Paleobotany, and chair of the BSA Publications Committee. For four years he was Managing Editor of Systematic Botany, and served another four years as Editor-in-Chief. He took over the editorship at a time when the journal was facing considerable challenges; his efforts to steer the journal to calmer waters were largely behind the scenes but ultimately completely successful. Most recently he has become Editor-inChief of the International Journal of Plant Science. In addition, he is in his second term as Program Chair for the ASPT, a group that constitutes nearly half the attendees at the BSA meeting each year; thus Pat’s efforts are seen every summer in the success of the annual meeting. As one of his nominators noted, “… there can be few research active and well-respected plant scientists who have given as much service to the Botanical Society of America and to the broader botanical community…” 37