Richard Paul Korf

Richard Paul "Dick" Korf (May 28, 1925 – August 20, 2016) was an American mycologist and founding co-editor of the journal Mycotaxon. He was a preeminent figure in the study of discomycetes and made significant contributions to the field of fungal nomenclature and taxonomy. Korf was professor emeritus of mycology at Cornell University and director emeritus of Cornell University's Plant Pathology Herbarium.

Early life and education

Korf was born on May 28, 1925, to an upper-middle-class family with homes in Westchester County, New York, and New Fairfield, Connecticut. While attending the prestigious Riverdale Country School in New York City, Korf was placed in charge of his biology class after their teacher joined the military. "In retrospect," Korf wrote, "I am convinced that this experience had an enormous impact on my future and on my decision to enter the teaching profession."

In 1942, shortly after his 17th birthday, Korf enrolled at Cornell University "with the vague notion that [he] might like to become a gentleman farmer." Korf continued his training under mycologist Harry Morton Fitzpatrick, whom he nicknamed "Prof Fitz." Korf completed his B.S. in botany in 1946 and doctorate in plant pathology and mycology with minors in genetics and general botany in 1950. He returned to Cornell in 1951 as a faculty member in the Department of Plant Pathology. He was named Associate Professor in 1955 and Professor of Mycology in 1961. He retired in 1992 but continued to teach until 1998, when he was replaced by Kathie Hodge. including Lekh Raj Batra, William C. Denison, K. P. Dumont, James Kimbrough, Donald H. Pfister, Martin A. Rosinski, Robert L. Shaffer, Robert A. Shoemaker, and Wenying Zhuang.

Mycotaxon

Korf co-founded Mycotaxon, an international peer-reviewed journal of taxonomy and nomenclature of fungi and lichens, with co-worker Grégoire L. Hennebert in 1974. Korf oversaw journal preparation, final editing, and subscription management as Managing Editor & English Language Editor (1974-1991) and business manager (1991–2006). He served as Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief from 1998 to 2003 and as treasurer of the corporation from 1999 to his death in 2016.

Mycotaxon reached 131 published volumes in 2016.

Taxa described Korf described or reclassified hundreds of species of fungi. The standard author abbreviation Korf is applied to taxa he described.

Personal life

While on sabbatical in Japan in 1957, Korf met his wife Kumiko "Kumi" Tachibana, a fine artist specializing in printmaking.

In the 1960s, Korf chaired the Liberal Party of Tompkins County, New York.

In 1972, Korf purchased Exe Island on Big Rideau Lake in Portland, Ontario, Canada. He later transferred the three acre island with cottage to Mycotaxon, Ltd. as Exe Island Biological Station.

Eponymous taxa

Anthracobia korfii S. Ahmad 1978 Chlorencoelia ripakorfii Iturr & Mardones 2013 Cookeina korfii Iturr., Xu, F & Pfister 2015 Discina korfii Raitv. 1970 Geopyxis korfii W.Y. Zhuang 2006 Gyromitra korfii (Raitv.) Harmaja 1973 Korfia 1963 Korfiella D.C. Pant & V.P. Tewari 1970 Korfiomyces Iturr. & D. Hawksw. 2004 Lambertella korfii W.Y. Zhuang 1990 Naemacyclus korfii V.G. Rao, Ullasa & A.S. Patil 1972 Phoma korfii Boerema & Gruyter 1999 Phylacia korfii J. Fourn. & Lechat 2015 Protocreopsis korfii Lechat C. & Fournier J. 2016 Sarcoscypha korfiana F.A. Harr. 1997 Scutellinia korfiana W.Y. Zhuang 2005 Scutellinia korfii Le Gal 1969 Stictus korfii Sherwood 1977 Strossmayeria dickorfii Iturr.1990

Honors and awards

2010, Ainsworth Medal for extraordinary service to international mycology, International Mycological Congress 1996, British Mycological Society Centenary Fellow 1993, Gamma Sigma Delta Cornell Chapter 1992 Distinguished Teaching Award 1992, State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching 1991, Distinguished Mycologist Award, Mycological Society of America 1972–73, Fulbright Senior Research Scholar, Université Catholique de Louvain 1957–58, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow (declined) 1957–58, National Science Foundation Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, Yokohama National University