Edward John Grafius, a longtime professor of entomology at Michigan State University, died on April 22 due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. He was 74.
As Mitch Galloway of Farm News Media reports for Michigan Farm News, Grafius’ influence on the potato industry spread nationwide, say those who knew him.
“He was very well respected for the research he did in entomology,” said Joseph Coombs, research assistant and assistant breeder in Michigan State University’s Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences. “I think he was a very good teacher: I had him on my committee, and he always was a good mentor. Anecdotally, he was probably one of the best editors and reviewers we worked with.”
Good natured, friendly, and respectful, Grafius was “a great individual,” said David Douches, Ph.D., director of the MSU Potato Breeding and Genetics Program. “He was a key person to the potato industry in terms of managing the Colorado potato beetle,” Douches, who worked with Grafius for 15 years, told Michigan Farm News.
Source: Michigan Farm News. Read the full story here
Photo: Credit Michigan Farm News
