Sohmer Receives BRIT International Award of Excellence in Conservation

From Plant Press, Vol. 19, No. 1, January 2016.

The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) presented its International Award of Excellence in Conservation to Sy H. Sohmer, the Institute’s first executive director and its current director emeritus, for his contributions in the field of botany over the whole of his career and in particular his 21 years of service as head of BRIT. The award was given on December 9, 2015. Sohmer is the 21^st recipient of the award.

Sy Sohmer (left) receives the International Award of Excellence in Conservation from Edward Bass, Vice Chair of the BRIT Board of Directors. (photo courtesy of BRIT)

Sohmer joined BRIT in 1993 as its first executive director. Under his leadership the organization grew from a staff of three—housed in a 12,000-square foot warehouse in downtown Fort Worth with about 400,000 dried plant specimens and a botanical and horticultural library of some 50,000 titles—to an organization with a staff of 30, housed in an energy efficient and sustainable building adjacent to the Fort Worth Botanical Garden. BRIT is currently the eleventh largest herbarium in the United States, possessing over 1.1 million specimens and with over 150,000 titles in its library.

Sohmer is currently a Research Associate in the Department of Botany at the National Museum of Natural History. His educational background includes a Bachelor of Science degree from the City College of New York, a Master of Science degree from the University of Tennessee, and a doctorate from the University of Hawaii.