UW Corn Authority Nelson Cited by Genetics Society

Oliver E. Nelson, an internationally recognized authority on the genetics of corn and a UW–Madison emeritus professor of genetics, is the recipient of the 1997 Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal from the Genetics Society of America for his lifetime contribution to genetics.

The Morgan Medal is bestowed on those who’ve made seminal contributions to the field of genetics. Nelson was recognized for contributions made over the course of a career that spanned 50 years.

As a scientist, Nelson conducted his studies through the painstaking breeding of plants, one of the most viable methods of understanding genetic influences in plants before the advent of modern molecular genetics. His contributions were made in diverse areas, from breeding new lines of popcorn, some still in commercial use, to the development of corn strains with greatly enhanced nutritional qualities.

Another key contribution, according to Ching Kung, a UW–Madison Professor of genetics, was Nelson’s laying of the foundation for and his collaboration with others in cloning of the first transposons from plants, Transposons, or “jumping genes,” are discrete segments of DNA capable of moving or jumping from one place on the chromosome to another.

Nelson has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1972. He received the Morgan Medal Dec. 10 in a celebration at the UW–Madison Genetics and Biotechnology Center on the UW–Madison campus.

Nelson was named an emeritus professor of genetics here in 1991.