Vernon Ahmadjian (May 19, 1930 - March 13, 2012) was a distinguished professor at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. He specialized in the symbiosis of lichens, and wrote several books and numerous publications on the subject. Career Ahmadjian was born on May 19, 1930 in Whitinsville, Massachusetts. After graduating with his BA in 1952 from Clark University, Ahmadjian served for two years in the United States Army in the Combat Medical Corps during the Korean War. Upon his return to civilian life, Ahmadjian continued his studies at Clark, receiving his MA in 1956, and then went on to achieve his PhD from Harvard University in 1960. Owing to his lichen field work in the 1960s at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, the National Science Foundation awarded him with the Antarctic Medal in 1967, and gave a peak in the Queen Alexandria Range of the Transantarctic Mountains the name of "Ahmadjian Peak". In 1996, Ahmadjian was honored by the International Association for Lichenology (IAL) with an Acharius Medal for outstanding research in the field of lichenology. He died on March 13, 2012 in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Books Ahmadjian, Vernon. 1967. The Lichen Symbiosis. Blaisdell Publishing Co., Waltham, Mass., 152 pages. Ahmadjian, Vernon. 1993. The Lichen Symbiosis. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 250 pages. Ahmadjian, V., and S. Paracer. 1986. Symbiosis: An introduction to Biological Associations. Hanover, N. H., University Press of New England, 212 pages. Paracer, Surindar and Vernon Ahmadjian. 2000. Symbiosis, An Introduction to Biological Associations. Second Edition. Oxford University Press, . Articles Ahmadjian, V. 1966. Lichens in Symbiosis. vol. 1. S. M. Henry, ed., New York, Academic Press, 35-97. Ahmadjian, V. 1967. A guide to the algae occurring as lichen symbionts: Isolation, culture, cultural physiology, and identification Phycologia 6:127-160. Ahmadjian, V. 1970a. The lichen symbiosis: Its origin and evolution. In, Evolutionary Biology. vol. 4. T. Dobzhansky, M. K. Hecht, and W. C. Steere, eds., Appleton-Century Crofts, N.Y., N.Y., 163-184. Ahmadjian, V. 1970b. Adaptations of Antarctic terrestrial plants. In, Antarctic Ecology. vol. 2. M. W. Holdgate, ed., London, Academic Press, 801-811. Ahmadjian, V. 1973a. Resynthesis of lichens. In, The Lichens. V. Ahmadjian and M. E. Hale, eds., New York, Academic Press, 565-579. Ahmadjian, V. 1973b. Methods of isolating and culturing lichen symbionts and thalli. In, The Lichens. V. Ahmadjian and M. E. Hale, eds., New York, Academic Press, 653-659. Ahmadjian, V. 1977. Qualitative requirements and utilization of nutrients: Lichens. In,