1956 M.J. Thirumalachar Dr. Thirumalachar was born on 22nd September, 1914 in Malleswaram, Bangalore, in a respected family of lyengar Brahmins known to be erudite and knowledgeable in various shastras (scriptures) in Sanskrit. He passed away on 21st April, 1999 at his home in Walnut Creek, California (USA) and is survived by his wife, Smt. Kasturi Thirumalachar, son, Dr. M.J. Narasimhan Jr., daughter-in-law and grandson Thirumalachar Jr. He had his early education in Bangalore and at an early age showed interest and inclination to work in the field of Mycology; his father himself (M.J. Narasimhan) as Director of Agriculture in the state of Mysore had contributed greatly to the etiology of the koleroga disease of arecanut and its control. After obtaining his Master's degree in Botany, he secured his D.Sc. degree from the University of Mysore under the guidance of Dr. B.B. Mundkur in 1944. He also had his Ph.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin (USA) in 1947 under the chairmanship of Dr. . James G. Dickson. He worked as Lecturer in Botany, University of Mysore from 1939 to 1945 and was Professor of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Banaras Hindu University in 1949 before he joined as Plant Pathologist in the Central Potato Research Institute, then headquartered at Patna where he remained upto 1953. After being selected for working in Hindustan Antibiotics, Pimpri, near Pune, he worked as WHO Fellow at the Intituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome with the Nobel Laureate, E.B. Chain. Research in the field of Antibiotics was initiated at Pimpri after his return from Rome. Here he served as Chief Mycologist and as Superintendent of Research, Hindustan Antibiotics Research Centre until his/retirement in 1974. He then proceeded to Copenhagen, Denmark as Visiting Profesor in the Institute of Seed Pathology established by Dr. P. Neergaard; moved to University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis (USA) where he worked from 1975 to 1978 for transfer of human insulin gene into a eukaryotic pseudoyeast cell; the Dow Chemical Company inivted him to establish and head anti-mycoplasma and anti-viral unit in 1979. Under the auspices of the Jeersannidhi Foundation, Jeersannidhi Anderson Institute was established where he became Director of Technology from the beginning of the eighties and continued working until the last day of his life. In order to promote Mycology and Plant Pathology, a generous bequest was made by him to the Indian Phytopathological Society for instituting the Narasimhan Academic award in the seventies. Another handsome constribution was made to the Society for establishing an Annual Lectureship named in honour of Jeersannidhi; a third generous donation was made during the Golden Jubilee Celebrations in November, 1997 as an 'upgrade' for both these awards. It is noteworthy that no individual has singly made such handsome contributions solely for advancement of Mycology & Plant Pathology in India. Dr. Thirumalachar was always keen to meet and interact with other persons in the profession especially the younger ones and to the extent possible, never missed an opportunity of attending national and international conferences, Meetings, Seminars, etc. He was also fond of taking photographs of persons eminent in medical/agricultural/botanical specialities and disciplines; in the
Indian Phytopathological Society, New Delhi
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