Michael Dillon

ENSO events and effects of El Niño on terrestrial vegetation Systematics of Neotropical Asteraceae (Gnaphalieae & Liabeae) Systematics of Nolana (Nolanae-Solanaceae) Floras of Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru Coastal South American Ecology and Biogeography North/South American Amphitropic Disjunctions Páramos, Floristic Inventories & Specimen Databases

Michael Dillon was Curator of Flowering Plants at the Museum for 30 years until his retirement in 2008. Over those three decades Dillon became one of the world’s leading experts on the plants of Peru, as well as the effects of El Niño events on neotropical plant populations.  He has published more than 100 scientific papers, and described dozens of new species, principally plants of Peru and Chile. Between 2005 and 2008 Dillon was Chair of the Department of Botany, overseeing a major upgrade of The Field Museum Herbarium and botanical labs (supported by the Searle Foundation), and spearheading pioneering efforts in collections digitization (supported by the National Science Foundation and the Mellon Foundation) that continue today. With National Geographic Society and National Science Foundation financial support, Dillon with his Peruvian and Chilean colleagues has conducted botanical inventories in a wide variety of habitats, including the Atacama and Peruvian coastal deserts, montane forests, high jungle forests (selva alta), and high-elevation páramos.  During these many projects, Dillon has been a close collaborator and mentor to many South American colleagues, fostering scientific discovery and teaching generations of scientists in Peru and Chile. In recognition of his collaborations and c...