Thomas Hawkes Nash III

Thomas Hawkes Nash III (born November 13, 1945) is an American lichenologist. His research is about the biology and ecology of lichens, and the effects of air pollution on plants and lichens. He is known as an authority on the family Parmeliaceae. During his long career at the Arizona State University, he helped develop the lichen herbarium into a world-class collection with over 100,000 specimens representing more than 5000 species. In 2010, the year of his retirement, he was awarded the Acharius Medal for lifetime achievements in lichenology, and the following year had a Festschrift published in his honor.

Biography Nash was born in Arlington, Virginia, in 1945. He received a B.Sc. from Duke University in 1967. It was around this time that he was introduced to lichens by ecologist Larry Bliss; he would later take an advanced undergraduate class on lichens given by William Culberson, and a lichenology summer course given by Mason Hale. Nash later went on to earn an M.Sc. (1969, botany) and Ph.D. (1971, botany and statistics) from Rutgers University, His research is largely focused on the biology of lichens and the effects of air pollution on plants. He uses an interdisciplinary approach to research, and the topics of his research publications include ecophysiology, ecology, taxonomy, floristics, and biomonitoring.

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