Royal E. Shanks

Abstract

Royal E. Shanks was born in Ada, Ohio on November 11, 1912. He lost his life on August 4, 1962 while swimming and studying a coral reef in a bay of the Caribbean Sea in Porte Limon, Costa Rica. He completed his M. S. in 1937 and received his Ph.D. degree a year later. From 1940 to 1946 Dr. Shanks held the post of Professor of Biology at Austin Peay State College in Tennessee with brief periods of service in both the Army and Navy. In 1947 he joined the University of Tennessee as an Associate Professor of Botany and became a Professor two years later. In 1955 a concern with environmental aspects of ecosystems led him to propose some fundamental studies in the most simple environments, those of the arctic regions. It was this interest that developed a close relationship and association between Dr. Shanks and the Arctic Institute of North America. From 1955 until the time of his death he received six grants from the Institute for the study of composition, structure, and productivity of tundra vegetation in northern Alaska. During his field studies in Alaska Dr. Shanks covered an extensive area on the northern coast of Alaska extending eastward nearly to the Canadian border and southward to the mountains and forests. Numerous publications have resulted from this research. Not only has Dr. Shanks made a considerable contribution to arctic research, but his ability has been recognized by his election to office in a number of scientific societies. A colleague of Dr. Shanks has said, "his manner was gentle, his activity great, his enthusiasm contagious".