Meinhard Michael Moser

Who was Meinhard Michael Moser?

Meinhard Michael Moser was an Austrian mycologist. After showing interest in natural sciences in his youth, he studied at the University of Innsbruck. However, his university career was interrupted when he was forced to complete military service, and so he trained as a military translator. He was stationed in eastern Europe during World War II, before being captured and placed in a prisoner of war camp. He was released in 1948, then completed his studies.

After receiving his doctorate in 1950, he worked in England for six months, researching the symbiotic relationships between plants and fungi. Upon his return to Austria, he took up a position with the Federal Forestry Research Institute, where he took part in influential research on the use of mycorrhizal fungi in reforestation. In 1953, he published the first edition of one of his most important works; a monograph of the Agaricales and Gastromycetes of central Europe. He began lecturing at the University of Innsbruck in 1956, and in 1972 he became the inaugural head of the first Institute of Microbiology in Austria. He remained with the Institute until his retirement in 1991. His studies continued until his death in 2002. An influential mycologist, he received a number of awards throughout his life, and numerous fungal taxa have been named in his honour.