Person

Woelkerling, William James (Bill) (1941 - )

Born
December 1941
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
Occupation
Phycologist

Summary

Bill Woelkerling is a world expert on red algae (Rhodophyta). His research has focused on the Corallinales and Ceramiales of southern Australasia, northeastern U.S.A. and the Sargasso Sea, resulting in ground-breaking publications often co-authored with colleagues. Woelkerling is active in international algal affairs. He was President of the International Phycological Society, and involved in the organisation of several International Phycological Congresses. For some years he had an editorial role for international algal journals. As a long-term member of the Commission on Algae of the International Association Plant Taxonomists he had a central role in the governance of world algal nomenclatural issues. Woelkerling joined La Trobe University in 1976, becoming Associate Professor in Botany: in retirement he retains his association with the University. A Research Associate of the National Herbarium of Victoria, he donated to the Herbarium's Library his collection of over 9,000 reprints on algae.

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Details

Chronology

1964
Education - BSc, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
1966
Education - MSc, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
1969
Education - PhD, University of Adelaide
1969 - 1971
Career position - National Science Foundation postdoctoral research fellow, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
1971 - 1976
Career position - Assistant professor botany, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
1976 - 1977
Career position - Lecturer in Botany, La Trobe University
1977 - 1983
Career position - Senior Lecturer in Botany, La Trobe University
1981 -
Career position - Member, Commission on Algae, International Association Plant Taxonomists
1983 -
Career position - Associate Professor in Botany, La Trobe University
1983 - 1989
Career position - Editor, Phycologia
1986
Award - DSc, University of Adelaide
1988
Career position - Co-Convenor, 3rd International Phycological Congress
1994
Career position - Chair, Organising Committee, 5th International Phycological Congress
1997
Career position - Chair, Organising Committee, 6th International Phycological Congress
1998 - 2000
Career position - Co-Editor, Cryptogamie, algologie
2000 - 2001
Career position - President, International Phycological Society

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Books

  • Woelkerling, W. J., Morphology and taxonomy of the Audouinella complex (Rhodophyta) in southern Australia (East Melbourne: CSIRO, 1971), 91 pp. Details

Journal Articles

  • Harvey, A. S., Woelkerling, W. J. and De Reviers, B., 'A taxonomic analysis of Jania (Corallinaceae, Rhodophyta) in south-eastern Australia', Australian systematic botany, 33 (3) (2020), 221-77, https://doi.org/10.1071/SB18064. Details
  • Woelkerling, Bill, 'Hugh Bryan Spencer Womersley (19 November 1922 - 16 January 2011)', Australasian Society for Phycology and Aquatic Botany Newsletter, 29 (1) (2011), 9. Details
  • Woelkerling, W. J. and Ducker, S. C., 'Lesueria minderiana gen.et sp. nov. (Corallinaceae, Rhodophyta) from southern and western Australia', Phycologia, 26 (1) (1987), 192-204, https://doi.org/10.2216/i0031-8884-26-2-192. Details
  • Woelkerling, W. J., Cormaci, M. and Furnari, G., 'Scientific names and authors of current tribes in the red algal family Rhodomelaceae (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta): a nomenclatural analysis', Bolletine dell’Academia Gioenia di Catania, 58 (389) (2025), 13-104, https://doi.org/10.35352/gioenia.v58i389.133. Details
  • Woelkerling, W. J.; and Borowitzka, M. A., 'A 75th birthday tribute to H. B. S. Womersley', Botanica Marina, 41 (1) (1998), 1-5. Details
  • Woelkerling, William J., 'The biodiversity of Corallinales (Rhodophyta) in southern Australia:1976 vs 1996 with implications for generating a world biodiversity database', Cryptogamie algologie, 18 (3) (1997), 225-61, https://doi.org/10.5962/p.209478. Details

See also

Helen Cohn

Created: 8 September 2026

EOAS ID: biogs/P008157b.htm

This Edition: 2026 August - Bibliographies
Larneuk - Gariwerd calendar - Pre-spring: late July to August - season of nesting birds
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