(excerpted from an obituary prepared by Trina Kleist from the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences)

Albert Fischer, a professor emeritus of weed ecophysiology in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, was recently named recipient of the Outstanding International Achievement Award by the International Weed Science Society.

Shortly after the award was announced, Fischer passed away on Nov. 22 in Davis, Calif. He was 72. Former student Whitney Brim-DeForest accepted the award on Fischer's behalf at the society's quadrennial meeting Dec. 8 in Bangkok.

Born in Montevideo, Fischer earned his bachelor's degree in crop science and animal husbandry from the University of the Republic of Uruguay; and his master of science and Ph.D. from Oregon State University in crop science. He had a lifelong passion for ending hunger in developing countries and collaborated extensively with colleagues around the world.

He started his career in weed research and extension at the Plant Protection Center, Uruguay, in 1975. He was a professor at the Autonomous University of Chapingo, Mexico, from 1979 to 1981. He was a rice and weed physiologist at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali, Colombia, from 1989 to 1996. During that time, he also was a visiting weed biologist at North Dakota State University, Fargo.

Fischer joined the faculty at UC Davis in 1997 and spent his time there specializing in weed ecology, competition of weeds in rice and integrated weed management until his retirement in 2016. During that period, he mentored more than 15 graduate students and six postdoctoral researchers, and he hosted short-and long-term visiting scholars from many countries. Fischer and his colleagues published more than 80 papers in peer-reviewed journals and more than 300 non-refereed scientific documents, reports, and presentations at scientific meetings. His writings were mostly in the areas of weed physiology and management.

His research and scientific service were highly regarded, both in California and internationally. He held the Melvin D. Androus Professorship for weed research in rice for most of his career. In 2017, the Cooperative Rice Research Foundation awarded him the Marlin Brandon California Rice Industry Award for his impact on weed management. His peers elected him vice-president of the IWSS, which he served as president in 2014. His students and colleagues remember him as a good scientist and collaborator, an outstanding mentor, and a man of sharp wit and humor.

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The UC Weed Science group is saddened by the loss of our friend and colleague.  He was a respected weed scientist and a good man.  Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

-Brad