Eugene F. Stoermer

Eugene F. Stoermer

Eugene F. Stoermer (March 7, 1934 – February 17, 2012) was a leading researcher in diatoms. Diatoms are tiny plants that float in water and help keep our environment clean. He studied diatoms, especially those found in freshwater in the North American Great Lakes.

Stoermer was a professor of biology at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment. His work helped scientists learn more about these important plants and how they live in lakes and rivers.

Biography

Eugene F. Stoermer studied science at Iowa State University and finished his studies in 1958 and 1963. His research focused on tiny plants called diatoms from a lake in Iowa.

He was one of the first people to use the word Anthropocene in the 1980s. This word describes how people have changed Earth. The idea became famous when Paul Crutzen, a winner of the Nobel Prize for studying the air, shared the term. He also wrote a book about diatoms with J. P. Smol.

Named after him

Several types of diatoms, which are tiny plants found in water, are named after Eugene F. Stoermer. Scientists discovered these diatoms and chose to honor his work by including his name in their scientific names.

These diatoms include:

• Amphora stoermerii
• Amphorotia stoermeri
• Colliculoamphora stoermeri
• Encyonema stoermeri
• Encyonopsis stoermeri
• Frustulia stoermeri
• Gomphonema stoermeri
• Gomphosphenia stoermeri
• Navicula stoermeri
• Neidium stoermeri
• Pinnularia stoermeri
• Surirella stoermerii