Helmut Mayrhofer

Helmut Mayrhofer is an Austrian lichenologist. He is known for his expertise on the lichen family Physciaceae and his studies of the lichen flora of the Balkan Peninsula, the Alps, and other regions.

Biography

Helmut Mayrhofer was born in 1953 in Aich, a village in Austria. He went to secondary school in Gröbming and Graz, and then to the University of Graz. He graduated from there in 1976 with a master's degree, having submitted a thesis titled "Flechten auf Rhododendron ferrugineum" ("Lichens on Rhododendron ferrugineum"). Mayrhofer worked at the as a high school teacher before returning to the University of Graz for work as a scientific assistant, a position he held until 1988. While working as a schoolteacher, Mayrhofer was also working on his doctoral degree, under the supervision of Josef Poelt. He defended his thesis, titled "Die saxicolen Arten der Flechtengattungen Rinodina und Rinodinella in der Alten Welt" ("The saxicolous species of the lichen genera Rinodina and Rinodinella in the Old World) in 1988, receiving his venia docendi (Doctor of Science) in plant systematics. That year he became a university lecturer; eventually he became an associate professor in 1995, and held this position until he retired in 2018. As of that year, he had supervised 10 PhD students and 38 masters and diploma thesis candidates.