From Plant Press, Vol. 22, No. 4, October 2019.
Vicki Funk was awarded the Linnean Medal at the annual meeting of The Linnean Society in May 2019. It is bestowed annually to one or two biologists (in any field), as an expression of the Society's esteemed appreciation for service to science. Although Funk was unable to attend the May meeting in London the current President of the Society, Sandy Knapp, brought the medal to Washington DC, and presented it to Funk on 2 October with many colleagues from the National Museum of Natural History in attendance.
Funk was highly deserving of this career award which recognized her prodigious contributions as an indefatigable and innovative evolutionary biologist, a field and herbarium botanist, a pure taxonomist, and an enthusiastic mentor of many students and early career scientists which included a special emphasis on women in science. Her career hallmarks included prolific and transformative research, innovations to the ways we do systematic botany, including early emphasis on the use of cladistics and biogeography, in addition to significance of field work, use of herbarium collections, and a lifelong interest with many significant contribution to the evolution of the largest angiosperm family, the Compositae.
Lamentably, Funk passed away on 22 October 2019. She will be greatly missed, but leaves an enduring legacy of unwavering research and mentorship. The Plant Press will feature an expanded article on her life and contributions in the next issue.
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