Wolf Vladimir Vishniac (April 22, 1922 – December 10, 1973) was an American microbiologist. He was the son of photographer Roman Vishniac and the father of astronomer Ethan Vishniac. Educated at Brooklyn College and Stanford University, he was a professor of biology at the University of Rochester. He died on a research trip to the Antarctic attempting to retrieve equipment in a crevasse. The crater Vishniac on Mars is named in his honor.
Wolf Vishniac contributed greatly to the search for life on Mars by developing a special miniature laboratory that could be transported to that planet, known as the "Wolf Trap". This research was supported by a NASA grant started in 1959, the first for the biological sciences.
Wolf Vishniac Memorial Award A Wolf Vishniac Memorial Award for Young Researchers is awarded at the biennially held International Symposium On Environmental Biogeochemistry (ISEB).Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: “International Symposia On Environmental Biogeochemistry (ISEB).” Without date (2000/2001 ?). Retrieved 3 November 2016. The award is presented to researchers no older than 35 years who must be a first author and give a presentation at the symposium.Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy we Wrocławiu: “The Wolf Vishniac Memorial Award.” 2001. Retrieved 3 November 2016. A notable recipient is Sergey Zimov, who received the award at the ISEB-10 in 1991.William S. Reeburgh: “Meeting report.” Report on the Tenth International Symposium on Environmental Biogeochemistry (ISEB-10). In: Geomicrobiology Journal 28 January 1992, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 73–74. (Full text at eScholarship, UC.) Retrieved 3 November 2016. Other recipients include M. Francesca Cotrufo at the ISEB-12 (1995),M. Francesca Cotrufo: “Curriculum Vitae.” Colorado State University College of Agricultural Sciences, 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2016. Alexis S. Templeton at the ISEB-14 (1999),Alexis S. Templeton: “Templeton Curriculum Vitae 2012.” University of Colorado Boulder, CU Experts, 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2016. Kamlesh Jangid at the ISEB-14 (1999),Microbial Culture Collection (MCC): “Dr. Kamlesh Jangid, Ph.D.” Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, without date. Retrieved 3 November 2016. Salwa Hamdi at the ISEB-19 (2009),Oliver Dilly, Eva Maria Pfeiffer: “Editorial. Sustainable biogeochemical cycling in soil.” In Soil Biology and Biochemistry 43(9), September 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2016. and Jillian M. Petersen at the ISEB-20 (2011).Jillian M. Petersen: “Curriculum vitae Dr. Jillian M. Petersen.” Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
In culture In his 1980 TV series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, Carl Sagan told the story of Wolf Vishniac in Episode 5, "Blues for a Red Planet".
References
External links Short bio entry, “Vishniac, Wolf Vladimir (1922–1973)” NASA History of Instrumentation for Mars missions A Photographer of a Vanished World and his Family (archived version) Every Vishniac