Dickson Despommier

Dickson Donald Despommier (June 5, 1940 – February 7, 2025) was an American academic, microbiologist and ecologist who was a professor of microbiology and Public Health at Columbia University. From 1971 to 2009, he conducted research on intracellular parasitism and taught courses on parasitic diseases, medical ecology and ecology. Despommier received media coverage for his ideas on vertical farming.

Early life and education Despommier was born on June 5, 1940, in New Orleans. His father was a shipping line accountant. When he was a child, his parents divorced.

Despommier was especially known for his research on Trichinella spiralis, which led to numerous advances in understanding of the "muscle stage" of the organism, and how it maintains itself in the host for long periods of time in the Nurse cell/parasite complex (weeks to years in some cases).

He developed his concept of vertical farming over a 10-year period with graduate students in a medical ecology class beginning in 1999, with work continued by designer Chris Jacobs and Ontarian eco-architect Gordon Graff from the University of Waterloo's School of Architecture.

Science outreach to the public In June 2008, Despommier appeared on The Colbert Report, where he described the concept of vertical farming to Stephen Colbert.

He was a regular panel-member of the podcast This Week in Virology, produced by his colleague Vincent Racaniello.

This Week in Parasitism (TWiP) is a podcast about eukaryotic parasites started by Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier. Daniel Griffin, MD joined the team in January 2015, followed by Christina Naula.

Death Despommier died on February 7, 2025, at the age of 84.

Chapters by Despommier:

Despommier, D. (2020). Vertical farming systems for urban agriculture. In: Wiskerke, J. S. C. Achieving sustainable urban agriculture. Cambridge: Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing.