Vernon Ahmadjian

Vernon Ahmadjian (May 19, 1930 - March 13, 2012) was a distinguished professor at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.—He specialized in the symbiosis of lichens, and wrote several books and numerous publications on the subject.

Ahmadjian was born on May 19, 1930 in Whitinsville, Massachusetts. After graduating with his BA in 1952 from Clark University, Ahmadjian served for two years in the United States Army in the Combat Medical Corps during the Korean War. Upon his return to civilian life, Ahmadjian continued his studies at Clark, receiving his MA in 1956, and then went on to achieve his PhD from Harvard University in 1960.

Owing to his lichen field work in the 1960s at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, the National Science Foundation awarded him with the Antarctic Medal in 1967, and gave a peak in the Queen Alexandria Range of the Transantarctic Mountains the name of “Ahmadjian Peak”.

In 1996, Ahmadjian was honored by the International Association for Lichenology (IAL) with an Acharius Medal for outstanding research in the field of lichenology.

He died on March 13, 2012 in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

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