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The Robert W. Hoshaw Memorial Scholarship Endowment FundHoshaw Home About Robert W. Hoshaw, by Richard McCourt (from the obituary in Phycologia, 1993, Volume 32 (6), p. 471) Phycology lost an ardent advocate, researcher and teacher with the death of Robert W. Hoshaw on 7 January 1993. Bob died after a brief bout with cancer. He was 71. |
Bob received his undergraduate degree from Purdue University (1942) and then served in World War II as an intelligence officer in the South Pacific. He returned to Purdue for his MS (1948) and PhD (1950) degrees, after which he took a position at the University of Arizona, where he spent his entire professional career teaching and doing research in botanical science. He was honoured by the UA with a 1990 Faculty of Science Teaching Career Teaching Award for "Outstanding Achievement of Teaching." This official recognition reflected the deep affection that Bob's students felt for him and the uniquely caring and intellectually demanding approach he took to teaching.
 Bob Hoshaw's research began with studies of corn and oak physiology, and he asserted that his primary professional interest was botany. Bob's research interests turned to algae after a year's sabbatical with Dr Richard Starr at Indiana University (1960-61). As a result of that experience Bob began what would be a three-decade study of the Order Zygnematales. He published over 50 articles and book chapters on algae, including studies of morphology, life histories, cytology and systematics of the Zygnematales. Bob was recognized worldwide as one of the foremost authorities on this large and important group of green algae. In addition to making many fundamental contributions in basic research on the Zygnematales, Bob published two major reviews on this group of algae (Hoshaw 1968; Hoshaw & McCourt 1988). At the time of his death he was actively engaged in research on molecular systematics and evolution in the Zygnematales using gene sequence data from chloroplast DNA. Bob Hoshaw's dedication to his science did not stop with his own students and research. He was an indefatigable worker for phycological causes, particularly through activities of the Phycological Society of America. He was President of the PSA (1973) and Chairman of the Board of Trustees (1979-89). In the latter role Bob was instrumental in establishing the Endowment Fund of the PSA, which now provides the financial infrastructure for scholarly awards, student programmes and publishing activities that benefit the entire phycological community. On a personal level, it would be harder to find a more loyal and devoted colleague than Bob Hoshaw. He was one of those scientists who works tirelessly and often without formal recognition for projects that benefit the society or group. His many friends and colleagues will miss his presence at scientific meetings. We will all be a little poorer in spirit without his inspiration and contributions. Bob's equally dedicated partner in life was his beloved wife Ruth, who along with their three children and six grandchildren survive him. A man's death is a time to look at past accomplishments, and Bob Hoshaw's career is an exemplary one. But Bob always looked to the future and worked to establish programmes and to educate students who would carry on the vital work of advancing our knowledge of algae. We in phycology will miss Bob Hoshaw dearly, but we will also experience the benefits of his foresight and dedication for decades to come. Richard McCourt, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA Hoshaw, R. W. 1968. Biology of the filamentous conjugating algae. In: Algae, Man, and the Environment (Ed. by D. F. Jackson), pp. 135-184. Syracuse University Press, New York. Hoshaw, R. W. & McCourt R. M. 1988. The Zygnemataceae (Chlorophyta): a twenty-year update of research. Phycologia 27:511-548.
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