Robert F. Inger
| Robert Frederick Inger | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 10, 1920 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. |
| Citizenship | American |
| Fields | Biology, Herpetology |
| Institutions | Field Museum |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago |
| Notable students | James Bacon, Richard Wassersug, Karl Frogner, Patty Schwalm, Harold Voris, David Liem, Bryan L. Stuart |
| Notable awards | Datuk (2007) |
| Author abbrev. (zoology) | R. F. Inger |
| Spouse | Tan Fui Lian, Mary Lee Ballew (1918-1985) |
Robert Frederick Inger (September 10, 1920 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American herpetologist.
Robert Inger is the son of Jacob Inger and Anna Bourd. In 1946 he married Mary Lee Ballew who died of cancer in 1985. In 1991 he married Tan Fui Lian.
Inger's high school biology teacher was Julian Steyermark who became Curator of Botany at the Field Museum. Steyermark was the role model that led Inger to the Field Museum to volunteer where he was interviewed by Karl P. Schmidt, Dwight Davis, and Clifford H. Pope. As a result of this volunteer work, Inger had authored or coauthored five publications before graduating from high school. In 1942, Inger received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Chicago. After first being turned down due to poor eyesight, he was drafted into the Army Corps of Engineers and placed in a unit of General Patton's Army in France and Germany making maps from the ground. He was discharged in 1945 near St. Louis. Inger returned to the University of Chicago for graduate work with his principal mentor being Karl P. Schmidt who suggested that he do his dissertation on the systematics and zoogeography of the Philippine Amphibia (Inger, 1954), using the extensive collection at the Field Museum.
Inger's herpetology career began with volunteer work at the Field Museum where he was eventually hired as Assistant Curator of Fishes in 1949. He then succeeded Clifford Pope as Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles in 1954. He retired from this position in September 1994, however he continues lab and field work in the museum as Curator Emeritus.
Inger served as president of the Society of Systematic Zoology in 1971, president of American Society of Ichthyology and Herpetology in 1974, and president of the Herpetologists' League in 1982-1983. He was an editor for Evolution and the American Midland Naturalist and a sectional editor (herpetology) for Copeia. He has also served on the board of the Illinois Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. In January 2007 Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Abang Muhammad Salahuddin Abang Barieng conferred on Inger the honorary Panglima Setia Bintang Sarawak (PSBS), which carries the title Datuk. This honor was conferred in recognition of Inger's 50 years of field work in Borneo describing, cataloguing and publishing on the taxonomy and ecology of herpetofauna in Sarawak.
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