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Maniotis; geneticist, natural historian
James Maniotis, Ph.D., emeritus associate professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, died Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2002, after a brief battle with intestinal cancer at the Barnes-Jewish Extended Care facility. He was 73. Maniotis was a resident of University City and a member of the University community since 1966. He lived his professional life as a proponent and champion for the value of Arts & Sciences at the University. He was both valued and honored by thousands of his students and many of his colleagues for his excellence in teaching botany, mycology and natural history for more than 35 years. As a teacher, he strove to impart to his students how fungi and plants impact human evolution, human health and everyday living. As a scientist, his basic research with his graduate students and collaborators focused on topics such as the pathogenicity of histoplasmosis; ringworm; aeroallergens bothering children; fungi as indicators of water pollution; fungi as purifiers of solid waste; crop-destroying fungi; athlete's foot fungus; preservation of library books from molds; fermentation; commercial mushroom growing; and the anti-tumor properties of certain fungal extracts. "He taught with a passion," said Walter H. Lewis, Ph.D., emeritus professor of biology, who came to the University two years before Maniotis joined the faculty. "He loved his students and had the ability to make anyone share the fascination he held for mycology." Maniotis was a member of Mycological Society of America; The Genetics Society of America; The Botanical Society of America; the American Institute of Biological Sciences; the American Association for the Advancement of Science; and Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Maniotis was born of Greek immigrant parents in Detroit in 1929. He was educated in the Detroit public school system. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in 1952 and 1957, respectively, from Wayne State University. He earned a doctorate in botany from the University of Iowa in 1960. He served as a meteorologist and ballistics expert in the U.S. Army from 1953-55 and was in the U.S. Reserve from 1955-1961. His wife, Sassa Maniotis, died in 1991 and was a noted piano teacher in St. Louis. Among his survivors are his son, Andrew Maniotis, who directs a melanoma research and tissue engineering program as an assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, a brother, Constantine Maniotis of Chicago, and three grandchildren. A memorial service was held Nov. 2 at Lupton Chapel in University City. Memorial contributions may be made to Alive & Well AIDS Alternatives, 11684 Ventura Boulevard, No. 338, Studio City, CA 91604. |
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