Emil Müller, 1920–2008

Exegi monumentum aere perennius regalique situ pyramidum altius, quod non imber edax, non aquilo impotens possit diruere aut innumerabilis annorum series et fuga temporum.

Horace (Odes 3, XXX)

Prof Dr Emil Müller (known to his friends, colleagues and students as “Ascus”) died on 2 Apr 2008 after a long illness.

Emil Müller was born on 5 Mar 1920 in Zürich. His interest in natural history took him to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich where he studied and graduated in Agricultural Sciences in 1944. He worked as a consultant and teacher at the Plantahof Agricultural School in Landquart (Canton Graubünden) almost 4 y, where he became interested in fungi, especially grass-inhabiting ascomycetes. This interest led him to begin taxonomic and ecological studies on species of genus Leptosphaeria, a work that, under the supervision of Prof Dr Ernst Gäumann (who gave him the nickname), earned him his doctorate in 1949. The excellent work on Leptosphaeria, which set the foundations for subsequent taxonomic work, was concluded in less than 18 mo. In recognition of this accomplishment ETH awarded him a silver medal for science.

From that time on Emil’s mycological work proceeded relentlessly. During the next 4 y that he spent at the plant-breeding department at the Reckenholz Federal Research Station (Zürich), he published 16 papers on ascomycete taxonomy. In 1954 he was appointed curator of the herbaria at ETH and was allowed to dedicate himself fully to taxonomic research. During his scientific career he published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, among them several books that are considered landmarks in mycology. An almost complete list of hisPUBLICations can be found in Petrini and Horak (1985). He may be best known however for twoPUBLICations co-authored with his Swiss friend, colleague and fellow Gäumann student, J.A. von Arx: Die Gattungen der amerosporen Pyrenomyceten (Genera of the amerosporous Pyrenomycetes, 1954) followed 8 y later by Die Gattungen der didymosporen Pyrenomyceten (Genera of didymosporous Pyrenomycetes). ThesePUBLICations are unique in modern ascomycete taxonomy for their taxonomic breadth, covering a large number of genera and including numerous species described and illustrated. The pocket-size book Mykologie, which Emil and his friend Wolfgang Löffler published in German, remains an important and unsurpassed reference book; it has been translated into English, Polish and Spanish. Emil’s scientific work was honored and recognized not only at the ETH, where he taught mycology, first as a lecturer (Privatdozent) in 1966, then as associate professor (1970) and eventually as full professor (1973) until his retirement in 1987.

Emil was known and respected by mycologists throughout the world. An active participant in both of the seminal Kananaskis Conferences (1969 and 1979) where ascomycete and “deuteromycete” taxonomies were melded, he received many international accolades, including appointment as a corresponding member of the Mycological Society of America (1982) and election as honorary member of the British Mycological Society (1982).

Emil published most of his work in Sydowia, an international journal of mycology (formerly Annales Mycologici), of which he had been editor for several years. He took over editorship of the journal after the death of its founder and first editor Dr F. Petrak in 1973, with whom the young Emil Müller and J.A. von Arx spent a 6 mo long postdoctoral period in Vienna. Petrak had established Sydowia in large part because he did not appreciate intervention by reviewers or editors in his ownPUBLICations. Thus Sydowia fell into disrepute from a lack of scientific rigor in many of the articles published in it. When Emil took over editorship of Sydowia he actively and successfully sought to reverse its poor reputation. He continued as a member of the editorial board almost until the time of his retirement.

A keen mountaineer, Emil’s main interest was alpine fungi. Throughout his life he collected actively in the Swiss Alps. His preferred hunting grounds were in Canton Graubünden, where he loved taking his students on field trips that were both socially enjoyable and scientifically highly rewarding for all participants. Emil knew the biology of the Alps. For many years he collected and identified the alpine ascomycetes of Canton Graubünden, with the idea of eventually publishing a treatise on these fungi. This monumental work could not be completed because of his illness, but we sincerely hope these invaluable investigations some day will be available to mycology. He could identify all the alpine phanerogams (in addition to all the spots on each of them); he never ceased to marvel at the monumental geological forces that formed the great mountains. He was equally familiar with the human history of his nation, adept at pointing out sites of Roman habitation as he was in discussing difficulties experienced by modern farmers. Evenings with Emil Mü ller, after a day of collecting in the mountains, were magical as students and international visitors mixed science, local lore and ecology with good food, wine and beer.

Emil Müller, a modest man, was not only a gifted scientist but also an open, lovable friend who enjoyed greatly human contact with students and friends. All his students and friends in fact remember Ascus not only as a mentor but also equally as a dear friend. Emil Müller’s death came one day after the death of his friend and colleague Dr Margaret Barr-Bigelow (16 Apr 1923–1 Apr 2008). Emil and Margaret were two of the great mycologists of our time, with careers that spanned the transition from classical to molecular systematics. They were among the most active and widely knowledgeable mycologists of any time and as such they contributed significantly to developing the bases of “pyrenomycete” and “loculoascomycete” systematics that are being tested and expanded now by younger mycologists with the tools of DNA sequence analysis. Paraphrasing Horace’s words, with their work they have erected a monument more enduring than bronze, a landmark for which all mycologists and science are grateful. The mycological world has lost with them two enormously gifted scientists; those personally acquainted with them will miss not only their profound knowledge of fungi but also their open and valued friendship.

Fig. 1. Prof Emil Müller, friend and colleague to many, during a post-IMC4 excursion near Davos, Switzerland, Sep 1990. Photo courtesy of Prof Ottmar Holdenrieder.