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Ogren Awarded Honorary Doctor of Science Degree

William Ogren (left) receives an honorary doctor of science degree from University of Wisconsin–Madison chancellor John D. Wiley. Photo courtesy of Empire Photo.

On May 12, 2006, the University of Wisconsin–Madison awarded ASPB member William Ogren an honorary doctor of science degree.

The aggregate of William Ogren’s work is an astonishing string of breakthrough discoveries that rewrote textbooks, including fundamental discoveries in photosynthesis. Contributions from his lab include how oxygen inhibits photosynthesis; high-precision measurements of this process that are now used in global models predicting how fast carbon dioxide accumulates in the atmosphere; popularization of the use of Arabidopsis, now the model plant species; and the first example in plants of one gene that makes two variations of a protein by the process called alternative splicing. The influences of Dr. Ogren have been as disparate and multidisciplinary as engendering a major genome project and underpinning models of greenhouse gas effects. His first seminal discovery laid the foundation for our current understanding of photorespiration, and his genetic analyses extended our understanding of its biochemical pathways.

Ogren’s entire research career was spent as a scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service at Urbana, Illinois. He is now retired and lives on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.