Biology professor receives Asa Gray Award

July 14, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida biology professor Walter Judd, a world‐renowned expert on flowering plant taxonomy and tropical botany, has received the 2011 Asa Gray Award from the American Society of Plant Taxonomists.

The award is named for Asa Gray (1810–1888), the most important American botanist of the 19th century, and recognizes outstanding lifetime achievement in the field of plant systematics.

Over his distinguished career, Judd has published more than 150 scientific articles as well as one of the most widely adopted textbooks in the field, “Plant Systematics: a Phylogenetic Approach,” now in its third edition. Throughout his career, he has been at the forefront of integrating traditional anatomical approaches to understanding plant diversity with modern DNA‐based techniques. He is also one of the world’s leading experts on Caribbean plant diversity, as well as on the heath and melastome plant families.

Judd has also been recognized as an exceptional teacher throughout his career. He has received the University of Florida’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Instruction/Teacher of the Year Award three times. In addition to his University of Florida duties, every summer Judd teaches a tropical botany course at the National Tropical Botanical Garden that is attended by students from all over the world.

Judd received his doctorate from Harvard University in 1978 and joined the faculty at UF immediately thereafter. He also holds affiliate positions with the Florida Museum of Natural History and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, and served as president of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists from 2000‐2001.