04-27-94 Thomas Taylor Elected to NAS

STUDY OF ANCIENT PLANTS WINS SCIENTIST HIGH HONOR FROM ACADEMY

     COLUMBUS -- Thomas N. Taylor, an Ohio State University
scientist who studies ancient plants, has been elected to the
National Academy of Sciences (NAS).  His dedication to research
on fossil plants and fungi that are hundreds of millions of years
old has won him one of the highest honors accorded to a U.S.
scientist or engineer.

     Taylor (43221) is a professor of plant biology and of
geological sciences and a research scientist with the Byrd Polar
Research Center.  He said of his election, announced April 26 in
Washington: "I am humbled by it.  You don't do science for public
accolade; you do it because you're in love with it.  But this is
one of those nice things that happens to you once in a career."

     Taylor joins the ranks of 1,710 members of the NAS, an
academy established in 1863 to act as an official adviser to the
federal government in matters of science and technology.  Only
members can sponsor manuscripts for publication in the academy's
journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

     "His election is a wonderful tribute to Taylor's many years
of hard work and dedication to his research," said Gary Floyd,
dean of the College of Biological Sciences.

     James Garland, dean of the College of Mathematical and
Physical Sciences, was also pleased to hear the news.

     "This signifies the growing stature of Ohio State in the
national scientific community," Garland said.  "We expect we will
see other distinguished faculty so honored in the future."

     Ohio State is home to three NAS members:  Kenneth G. Wilson,
professor of physics; Leo A. Paquette, professor of chemistry;
and now Taylor.

     Taylor, 56, travels all over the world, from Antarctica to
Scotland, to uncover secrets about the origin and evolution of
plants.  Some fossilized plants date back to 200 million years
ago, while the ancient fungi he studies go back 400 million
years.

     A native of Fairview Park (a suburb of Cleveland), Taylor
received his bachelor's degree in botany from Miami University in
1960.  After earning a doctorate in botany from the University of
Illinois in 1964, he conducted post-doctoral research at Yale
University.

     He held positions at the University of Illinois-Chicago
Circle, at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, and at
Ohio University, before coming to Ohio State in 1974 as a
professor and chairperson of the Department of Plant Biology
(then called botany).  He has been part of the Department of
Geological Sciences since 1980.

     Taylor's research has been continuously funded by the
National Science Foundation since 1964.  Some of his recent
awards include the 1989 Ohio State University Distinguished
Scholar Award and the 1994 Von Humbolt Senior Research
Fellowship, which will allow him to continue collaborating with
colleagues in M=81nster, Germany.

     Taylor has written over 275 research papers and is author of
eight books and has another in progress.
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Contact:  Thomas Taylor, (614) 292-3564.
Written by Sarah Scherrer, (614) 292-9475.


[Submitted by: GERSTNER  (gerstner@ccgate.ucomm.ohio-state.edu)
               
Wed, 27 Apr 1994 14:57:35 -0500 (EST)]
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