Galston, Arthur W.

Galston, Arthur W. (William)

(1920–  ) botanist; born in New York City. He taught and performed research at the California Institute of Technology (1943–55), then joined Yale (1955–90). An authority on light and hormones as major influences in plant development, he made influential contributions to studies of plant growth hormones, photobiology, circadian rhythms, and the biochemistry of photoperiodism. He was one of the first American scientists to enter the People's Republic of China, from where he explored the ecological effects of herbicides in Indochina, especially Vietnam.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.