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| Irv Mendelssohn, professor in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, was recently awarded the 2008 Merit Award from the Society of Wetland Scientists in recognition for his contributions to wetland science. The society, with more than 3,500 members, is an international scientific organization that honors one of its members annually for outstanding contributions to the field of wetland science. Mendelssohn was honored for his work in the area of environmental controls on wetland plant vigor, with special emphasis in the area of flood tolerance eco-physiology. “Dr. Mendelssohn’s body of work on wetland plant eco-physiological response to waterlogging has helped us as a scientific community better understand key environmental stressors and plant responses ultimately associated with ecosystem health and sustainability,” said Mark Hester, Mendelssohn’s former graduate student, who nominated him for this award. “Clearly, wetlands cannot be effectively managed or rehabilitated any more successfully than patients without a proper diagnosis and understanding of the ailment. Dr. Mendelssohn and his students provide these types of critical insights into the potential range of responses and the limits of an organism’s ability to survive in a changing and dynamic environment.” Mendelssohn joined the LSU faculty in 1979 and has mentored more than 25 graduate students. He has twice been honored for his teaching at LSU, receiving the Joseph Lipsey Award for outstanding teaching and professional development by the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, and the Outstanding Teaching Award presented by the School of the Coast and Environment. His active research program in coastal plant ecology has brought over $9.5 million to LSU in grants and contracts, and he has published more than 125 research papers and book chapters, including two in the prestigious journal Science. Mendelssohn has served as an associate editor the journals Estuaries, Wetlands and presently, Flora. -30- |
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