Solomon P. Wasser

CURRICULUM VITAE

Born: L'vov, Ukraine
Date of Birth: August 26, 1946

EDUCATION, DEGREES AND AWARDS
Higher Education Diploma - the Uzhgorod State University, Department of Botany,
(former Soviet Union) 1964-1969

Systematics and Geography of Plants (BSc, MSc)

Candidate of Biological Sciences Degree (PhD) - Institute of Botany,

National Acad. Sci. Ukraine, Kiev, 1969-1973, Botany

Thesis: Higher Basidiomycetes of the Steppe Zone of Ukraine.

Doctor of Biological Sciences Degree (Dsc Biol) - Institute of Botany,
National Acad. Sci. Ukraine, Kiev, 1973-1982 - Mycology

Thesis: Family Agaricaceae (Fr.) Cohn of the Soviet Union
Elected Member of the National Acad. Sci. Ukraine - 1988

Professor of Botany and Mycology - 1991

The N.G.Kholodny National Acad. Sci. Ukraine Prize in Botany - 1982,
concerning the science and practice of commercial mushroom cultivation (Soviet Union)

Award from the Alexander H. and Helen V. Smith Fund for 1991 (USA)

PERMANENT POSTS
1994 - Head of International Center for Cryptogamic Plants and Fungi, Institute of
Evolution, University of Haifa, Israel

1975 - Scientific Head of the Department of Cryptogamic Plants, N.G.Kholodny Institute of
Botany, National Academy of Sciemces of Ukraine.

Med Myco Ltd (Israel)
Innovative Technologies Ltd
Director Science and Technology

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
1988-1994 - Professor in Biology, Lecture course in A.A.Bogomoletz Medical University (Kiev) in General Biology with Principles of Medical
Genetics Professor in Biology.

1995 - Lecture course in Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa in
Systematics and Evolution of Cryptogamic Plants and Fungi

PUBLIC ACTIVITIES
The founder and editor-in-chief of - "Algologia", the International Journal of the
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Ukraine)

The founder and editor-in-chief of - "International Journal of Medicinal
Mushrooms" ( Begell Publ. House, NY,USA)

The founder and editor-in-chief of - "International Journal on Algae" (Begell Publ.
House, NY, USA)

A member of the editorial board of the International Journal - "Cryptogamic Bo-
tany" (The Netherlands)

A member of the editorial board of the "Iternational Journal of Medicine and Complementary Medicine" (New Zealand)

A member of the editorial board of the International Journal "Ecology and Noosphe-
rology" (Ukraine, USA)

Member of the editorial board of the Journal "Boletin de la Sociedad Micologica de
Madrid" (Spain)

Honorary Member, Regensburg Botanical Society (Germany)

Member of the American Mycological Society (USA)

Member of the Israeli Botanical Society

Member of the Israeli Microbiological Society

Member of the Israeli Ecological Society

Member of the Explorers Club, Corresponding Fellow (USA)

Elected member of the Executive Committee of the International Mycological Association (1990-1994)

Elected member of the Executive Committee of European Commission of Mushroom
Conservation (from 1994 )

Vice-President of the XIV Congress of European Mycologists (from 1999 )

Vice-President International Congress "Medicinal Mushrooms in Health Care and Nutrition" (Kiev, 2001)

PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS
XII International Botanical Congress, Leningrad, USSR, 1975

IV Congress of European Mycologists, Budapest, Hungary, 1978
Congress of Mushroom Cultivation, Prague, CSSR, 1980

X Congress of European Mycologists, Tallinn, Estonia, 1989

IV International Mycological Congress, Regensburg, Germany, 1990

XI Congress of European Mycologists, London, England, 1992

XII Congress of European Mycologists, The Netherlands, 1995

VII International Congress on Culture Collection, The Netherlands, 1996

VIII International Congress of Bacteriology and Applied Microbiology division,
Israel, 1996

Ist European Phycologycal Congress, Germany, 1996

4th International Marine Biotechnology Conference, Italy, 1997

8th International Mycologycal Congress, Israel, 1998

13th Congress of European Mycologists, Spain, 1999

International Congress on Algae Biodiversity, Ukraine, 1999

International Conference on Cultivation of Edible Mushrooms, The Netherlands, 2000.

International Conference of Medicinal Mushrooms, Ukraine, 2001

44th Annual Mushroom Industry Conference, Penn State University, USA, 2002

International Mycological Congress 7, Oslo, Norway, 2002

KNOWLEDGE OF LANGUAGES
Russian, Ukrainian, English, German, Hungarian and Hebrew

SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS
* Theoretical comprehension of the vast amount of material collected in nature and studied in the laboratory made it possible to create an original complex approach in studies of Higher Basidiomycetes.

* A comparative study of the family Agaricaceae and the order Amanitales with the use of various methods and criteria serves as a model for greater clarification of general problems of systematics and phylogeny of Higher Basidiomycetes.

*An original system of the family Agaricaceae has been created which has merited
universal acknowledgement.

* Studies on geometric peculiarities of basidia of Higher Basidiomycetes were carried out for the first time in world science, and peculiarities.

* An original hypothesis was put forward on the time and origin centres of the order Agaricales.

* The critical study of the family Agaricaceae of Ukraine, the former Soviet Union, Far East of Russia, Vietnam, a number of USA States and Israel are performed.

* The critical study of Bacillariophyta algae of Ukraine is performed.

* The critical and systematic study of cryptogamic plants and fungi of Israel has begun.

* A number of investigations have been performed on the development of scientific principles of commercial cultivation of edible and medicinal mushrooms. Five patents for new strains of edible and medicinal mushrooms are received.

* Original approaches in studies of biodiversity and environmentalism and the role of cryptogamic plants and fungi are proposed.

* The fungal coefficient (FC) introduced into science made it possible to suppose the role of fungi in ecosystems of definite territories and total number of fungi existing in the terrestrial globe.

* Dynamics of accumulation of radionuclides in various cryptogamic plants and fungi of different ecosystems in Ukraine influenced by the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station accident.

* The introduced 226 new scientific names for fungi including 42 species new for science and 184 new for science nomenclature and taxonomic combinations.

* Authored, co-authored or edited 400 scientific papers, 12 patents and other contributions on mycology (including lichenology) and algology, systematics, ecology, biodiversity, protection, commercial cultivation of edible and medicinal mushrooms, and environmental topics, these include 34 books.

NEW SCIENTIFIC NAMES INTRODUCED (up to June 2002)
Order: 2

Families: 2

Sections: 18

Species (new): 49

Species (combinations and new names): 118

Intraspecific ranks: 57

EPONYMOUS NAMES:
Agaricus wasseri Bon et Court., Bon M. & R.Courtecuisse. Doc. Mycol., 16, 60, 1985: 7

Lepiota wasseri Bon, Bon. M. Doc. Mycol., 38, 95, 1994: 56

Lichenochora wasseri S. Kondr.,Isr. J. Plant Sci., Vol.44, 1996.

PUBLICATIONS
Author and co-author of 400 scientific publications including 34 books, 12 author's certificates (patents) of the USSR and USA for inventions (new strains of edible and medicinal valuable mushrooms for the commercial cultivation).
August 2002