Awards

Guggenheim Fellow (1944)

National Academies (1923)

American Association for the Advancement of Science

About Paul Weatherwax

The botanist Paul Weatherwax (1888-1976) was born in Indiana and long associated with Indiana University and the Indiana Academy of Science.

A native of Worthington, Indiana, Weatherwax attended both Wabash College and DePauw University in 1909 and 1910 respectively, but received his A.B., magna cum laude, from Indiana University in 1914. He then continued in graduate work at I.U., receiving the A.M. in 1915 and PhD in 1918. Weatherwax first joined the I.U. faculty as an instructor while doing graduate work, moved to the University of Georgia as an associate professor after completing his degree, and returned to Indiana University in 1921 where he stayed until retirement in 1959. He remained a very active Professor Emeritus on the Bloomington campus until his death in 1976.

Weatherwax authored several books, including The Story of the Maize Plant (1923), Elementary Botany (1942), and Indian Corn in Old America (1954), as well as numerous articles for both scientific and historical publications. He was also the author of the I.U. walking guide called The Woodland Campus of Indiana University (1966).

Weatherwax's major areas of research were the morphology of grasses, and the morphology, origin and history of the Indian corn plant. Among the many awards and kudos he received were the Waterman Fellowship, 1925-30, and a traveling Guggenheim fellowship, 1944-45. Prior to retirement Dr. Weatherwax headed the teaching group of Indiana University faculty in Bangkok, Thailand, on a Science Education contract with that country, 1957-1959.