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 clean the environment. He focused especially on freshwater diatoms found in the North American Great Lakes.

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

Biography

Eugene F. Stoermer earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1958 and his Doctor of Biological Science in 1963, both from Iowa State University. His doctoral thesis was about diatoms from a lake in Iowa.

He was one of the first people to use the term Anthropocene in the early 1980s to describe how human activity has changed our planet. The idea became well-known later when Paul Crutzen, a Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist, helped spread the term. He also wrote a book about diatoms with J. P. Smol.

Named after him

Several types of diatoms, tiny plants found in water, are named after Eugene F. Stoermer. Scientists discovered these diatoms and decided to honor his work by using 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

``