Carl Woese

Carl Woese
Woese in 2004
Born(1928-07-15)July 15, 1928
Syracuse, New York
DiedDecember 30, 2012(2012-12-30) (aged 84)
Urbana, Illinois
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma mater
Known forDiscovery of Archaea
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsMicrobiology
InstitutionsUniversity of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
ThesisPhysical Studies on Animal viruses (1953)
Doctoral advisorErnest C. Pollard[1]
Notable studentsDavid Stahl[2]

Carl Richard Woese (/ˈwoʊz/;[3] July 15, 1928 – December 30, 2012) was an American microbiologist and biophysicist. Woese is famous for defining the Archaea (a new domain of life) in 1977 through a pioneering phylogenetic taxonomy of 16S ribosomal RNA, a technique that has revolutionized microbiology.[4][5][6][7] He also originated the RNA world hypothesis in 1967, although not by that name.[8] Woese held the Stanley O. Ikenberry Chair and was professor of microbiology at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign.[9][10][11]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference pnas2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "History of the Department of Microbiology" (PDF). University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. June 1, 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  3. ^ Hagen, Ray, ed. (August 2012). "Say How? A Pronunciation Guide to Names of Public Figures". National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
  4. ^ Woese, Carl R.; Kandler, O; Wheelis, M (1990). "Towards a natural system of organisms: proposal for the domains Archaea, Bacteria, and Eucarya". Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 87 (12): 4576–9. Bibcode:1990PNAS...87.4576W. doi:10.1073/pnas.87.12.4576. PMC 54159. PMID 2112744.
  5. ^ Woese, C.R.; Magrum, L.J.; Fox, G.E. (1978). "Archaebacteria". J Mol Evol. 11 (3): 245–51. Bibcode:1978JMolE..11..245W. doi:10.1007/BF01734485. PMID 691075. S2CID 260611975.
  6. ^ Woese, C. R.; G. E. Fox (November 1, 1977). "Phylogenetic structure of the prokaryotic domain: The primary kingdoms". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 74 (11): 5088–5090. Bibcode:1977PNAS...74.5088W. doi:10.1073/pnas.74.11.5088. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 432104. PMID 270744.Open access icon
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference morell1997 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Woese, Carl (1967). The Genetic Code: the Molecular basis for Genetic Expression. New York: Harper & Row.
  9. ^ Noller, H. (2013). "Carl Woese (1928–2012) Discoverer of life's third domain, the Archaea". Nature. 493 (7434): 610. Bibcode:2013Natur.493..610N. doi:10.1038/493610a. PMID 23364736. S2CID 205076152.
  10. ^ Goldenfeld, N.; Pace, N. R. (2013). "Retrospective: Carl R. Woese (1928-2012)". Science. 339 (6120): 661. Bibcode:2013Sci...339..661G. doi:10.1126/science.1235219. PMID 23393257. S2CID 36566952.
  11. ^ "U. of I. microbiologist Carl Woese elected to Royal Society". News Bureau, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. May 19, 2006. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2009.