Draft:Robert "Ben" Channell

  • Comment: Again. You can keep adding links to the subject's articles but that doesn't help for notability purposes. You need secondary sources that actually discuss the subject. Plus, again, WP:NOTMEMORIAL, so it needs to be rewritten. Drmies (talk) 20:52, 4 June 2024 (UTC)

Dr. Robert "Ben" Channell
Born(1924-07-04)July 4, 1924
Gallman, Mississippi, USA
Died(2001-08-10)August 10, 2001
Alma materMississippi State College, Duke University
Known forResearch on the genus Trillium, Rhynchospora, and Perilla frutescens
Scientific career
FieldsBotany
InstitutionsVanderbilt University, Harvard University, Duke University

Dr. Robert “Ben” Channell (July 4, 1924 – August 10, 2001) was an American botanist known for his taxonomic revision of the ‘Eu-Rhynchospora’ portion of the genus Rhynchospora and pioneering research on the genus Trillium. He also conducted extensive studies on the toxic compound perilla ketone from the plant Perilla frutescens, the genus Hydrophyllum L. (Hydrophyllaceae), and the Buxaceae family.

Career

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Channell was also a member of a drive within the Tennessee Academy of Science aimed to facilitate collaboration between "workers of science" and those involved in "scholarly research." [1] He was among 16 botanists who led the 11th annual Great Smoky Mountains Wildflower Pilgrimage from April 27-29, 1961 in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.[2] [3] Channell served as a curator of the Vanderbilt Herbarium[4] in the 1960s. In 1964, Channell was appointed to serve on the Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science within the American Society of Plant Taxonomists.[5]

Trillium Research

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One of Channell’s most significant grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) was for the project titled “Cytotaxonomic and Biochemical Studies of the Origin, Distribution and Relationships of Species of Trillium (Liliaceae).” This research aimed to understand the natural taxonomic units comprising the genus Trillium through chromosomal studies.

Collaborations

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Channell’s research involved collaborations with Japanese botanists, including comparative studies of the evolutionary and migrational history of Trillium with researchers at Kyushu University. He published several papers with his Japanese colleagues, including Dr. Ichiro Fukuda.[6]

Legacy and Death

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In 1996, a new tetraploid species, Trillium channellii, was named in his honor. The authors describing and naming this species stated that they were motivated to name it for Channel because his "support of research on taxonomy, cytogenetics, chemistry, and ecology of [Trillium] during the early 1960s account (directly or indirectly) for much new information published about these plants since that time by us as well as many others."[7] He left behind a legacy scholarship [8] for students studying the sciences at Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

Dr. Robert “Ben” Channell passed away on August 10, 2001. His legacy continues through the students he mentored, including James T. Murrell, Robert L. Beckmann, Jr, and Jim Folsom.[9]

References

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  1. ^ https://newscomse.newspapers.com/image/603332807/?match=1&terms=channell%20v anderbilt&pqsid=DixgHuWGGvTBWYyf3oYmbA%3A67345%3A926764718
  2. ^ https://newscomse.newspapers.com/image/587626362/?match=1&terms=channell%20v anderbilt&pqsid=DixgHuWGGvTBWYyf3oYmbA%3A542282%3A363625634
  3. ^ https://newscomse.newspapers.com/image/603261000/?match=1&terms=channell%20v anderbilt&pqsid=DixgHuWGGvTBWYyf3oYmbA%3A67345%3A926764718
  4. ^ https://www.gesneriadsociety.org/chapters/TGS/jan06gesed.pdf
  5. ^ "Front Matter" (PDF). Brittonia. 17 (2). 1965. JSTOR 2805234.
  6. ^ https://ia802908.us.archive.org/3/items/biostor-64030/biostor-64030.pdf
  7. ^ https://ia802908.us.archive.org/3/items/biostor-64030/biostor-64030.pdf
  8. ^ https://www.colin.edu/colin/assets/File/Students/Publications-Policies/Catalog/Catalog%20Pages%202011-2013.pdf
  9. ^ "Platanthera – on the Fringes". 22 June 2023.
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