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Charles E. Palm  (1912-1996)
Dr. Charles Edmund Palm, an authority on insect life and plant pathology who built the department of entomology at Cornell University into one of the finest in the country, died last Sunday at Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca, N.Y. He was 84 and lived in Ithaca. Dr. Palm received his Ph.D. in his specialties from Cornell in 1935, when he began his career there as an instructor. By the time he turned 27, in 1928, he had been appointed a professor and the head of the department of entomology. He was dean of the College of Agriculture from 1959 to 1972 and retired in 1976 as the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Agriculture and Professor Emeritus of Entomology. During his tenure, Dr. Palm contributed to the college's scientific standing. His efforts led to a wider role for entomology and the science of integrated pest management and to higher educational standards for his department. He expanded the department by balancing basic research with applied studies. He started programs in basic research fields like insect toxicology, biochemistry and physiology, as well as applied research on forage crop insects, livestock insects and pesticide application methods and equipment. In 1939, he and an associate convened Cornell's first pesticide conference, which brought together educators, researchers and industry representatives to share the latest information. He also awakened Cornell's interest in agriculture on a global scale with faculty exchanges and specialized missions abroad. He helped inaugurate the university's division of biological sciences, a joint venture of the College of Agriculture and the College of Arts and Sciences. Under his guidance, the division became the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. In 1972, the Cornell trustees appointed Dr. Palm as the first Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor, a chair named after one of the university's distinguished horticulturists. He was born in Austin, Tex., and naturally settled into his metier as he grew up on a fruit and vegetable farm in northwest Arkansas. He graduated with honors from the University of Arkansas and then went to Cornell for graduate work. Dr. Palm is survived by his wife, Geraldine Gibson Palm, and a son, Alan S., of Washington. By WOLFGANG SAXON Published: March 2, 1996 The New York Times

AffiliationCornell University (1935-1976 ret.) (PhD 1935)
Label AbbreviationC.E. Palm
Other NamesC.E. Palm

     
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