David B. Wake | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1936-06-08)June 8, 1936 |
| Died | April 29, 2021(2021-04-29) (aged 84) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | |
| Spouse | Marvalee Wake |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Zoology |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | |
| Doctoral advisor | Jay M. Savage |
| Website | ib |
David Burton Wake (June 8, 1936 – April 29, 2021) was an American herpetologist. He was professor ofintegrative biology and Director and curator ofherpetology of theMuseum of Vertebrate Zoology at theUniversity of California, Berkeley. Wake is known for his work on the biology and evolution ofsalamanders as well as general issues of vertebrate evolutionary biology.[1][2] He has served as president of theSociety for the Study of Evolution, theAmerican Society of Naturalists, andAmerican Society of Zoologists. He was a member of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science, theLinnean Society of London, theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences, theAmerican Philosophical Society,[3] and in 1998 was elected into theNational Academy of Sciences. He was awarded the 2006Leidy Award from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.[4]
Wake was born inWebster, South Dakota, and grew up in nearbyPierpont.[5][6] His mother was a high school biology teacher. He cited as a strong influence his maternal grandfather, aLutheran pastor and amateur naturalist who took David on botanical walks and introduced him to Latin terminology and evolutionary principles. When Wake was in high school his family moved toWashington state where he completed high school and enrolled inPacific Lutheran College, declaring a history major and considering a career in law. He soon decided to become a biologist instead, graduating in 1958, and chose to pursue graduate school at theUniversity of Southern California underJay M. Savage. He chose salamanders as a model of how species diversify, earning an M.S. in 1960 and PhD in 1964: writing his doctoral dissertation on the biology oflungless salamanders (family Plethodontidae).[7]
Wake was hired by theUniversity of Chicago in 1964, where he worked until 1969, when he was hired as faculty member of UC Berkeley and curator of theMuseum of Vertebrate Zoology. He served as director of the MVZ from 1971 to 1998.[7] During his time as a graduate student, Wake met his future wife,Marvalee Hendricks, who was a student in a course he taught. She also became a graduate student in the Savage lab, and they married in 1962.[7] Their son, Thomas, is azooarchaeologist.[5][8] Along withElizabeth Jockusch, he identified several new species ofBatrachoseps salamanders in 2001.[9]
Wake died on April 29, 2021, at his home in Oakland, California.[8]
Wake is commemorated in the names of the salamanderCryptotriton wakei (Wake's moss salamander), the skink genusDavewakeum, the frog genusWakea, a species of theJurassic salamanderMarmorerpeton and the lizardCyrtodactylus wakeorum (Wakes' gecko)—the latter two named jointly after him and his wife.[10][11][12][13]
The specific epithet of the extinctQikiqtania wakei was also given in his memory.[14]
David Wake was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society (1996), theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences (1997), and theNational Academy of Sciences of the United States (1998). He was aGuggenheim Fellow (1981 – 82) and was recipient of the Distinguished Herpetologist Award from the Herpetologists’ League (1984), the Grinnell Medal from theMVZ (1998), theHenry S. Fitch Award from theAmerican Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (1999), the Joseph Leidy Medal of theAcademy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (2006) and the Fellows Medal of theCalifornia Academy of Sciences (2012).[15]
for their contributions to herpetology, vertebrate morphology, and evolutionary biology and for their valuable mentoring of many graduate students
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
