Draft:Champ B. Tanner

Champ Bean Tanner
Occupation	Soil scientist

Champ Bean Tanner (November 16, 1920 – September 22, 1990) was an American soil physicist and plant physiologist, known for his pioneering contributions to soil science and his leadership in developing techniques for measuring plant-water relations and understanding the physical behavior of soils. Over the span of his career, Tanner authored over 150 technical papers, book chapters, and reports, and advised 25 Ph.D. and 19 M.S. students. He was the first soil scientist elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1981, and his work played a key role in shaping modern soil physics and plant physiology. Tanner served as chair of the Department of Soils at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1984 until his retirement in 1988.

Early life and education

Born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Champ Tanner was raised in a family of Mormon pioneer heritage. His father, a construction engineer, died early in Tanner’s life while saving a coworker from drowning. Champ's widowed mother, a highly respected professor of English at Brigham Young University, was an influential figure in his life, fostering his intellectual curiosity and instilling high standards of education. Her success in academia at a time when women professors were rare was a source of inspiration for Champ throughout his career.

Tanner began his studies at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he was mentored by the legendary soil scientist Tommy Martin, who encouraged him to pursue graduate studies in soil science. At BYU, Tanner met and married Catherine Cox (known as Kay) in 1941. He completed his undergraduate degree in 1942 and soon began graduate studies at North Carolina State University. However, his studies were interrupted by World War II, during which he served as an officer in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, specializing in radio and electronics. The technical skills he acquired during his military service would later influence his research in soil physics and instrumentation.

After the war, Tanner resumed his education and joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he worked under Emil Truog, a demanding yet compassionate professor and pioneer in soil science. Tanner completed his Ph.D. in soil physics, despite contracting polio during the 1950-51 epidemic, which left him with lasting physical disabilities. Tanner’s determination to overcome the illness and finish his graduate work earned him deep loyalty to the University of Wisconsin and set the stage for his long career there.

Academic career and research

Tanner began his academic career as a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1953. His early research focused on improving experimental techniques to characterize soil properties, such as water retention, air-filled porosity, and permeability. His precise attention to experimental design and instrument calibration laid the foundation for future developments in soil physics.

Contributions to soil physics

During the 1950s and 1960s, the field of soil physics was rapidly evolving, and Tanner’s work on the energy budget of soils, particularly evapotranspiration and soil-water relations, positioned him as a leader in the field. His collaboration with Verner Suomi, a renowned meteorologist, led to breakthroughs in understanding evaporation and transpiration from plants and soils. Tanner's improvements to lysimeter technology, including the design and construction of weighing lysimeters capable of measuring small changes in soil moisture and evapotranspiration over brief time intervals, provided new insights into the water balance in agricultural systems.

Plant physiology and water relations

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Tanner turned his attention to plant physiology, focusing on the response of plants to environmental stress, particularly water availability. After a sabbatical in Australia with John Passioura, a leading plant physiologist, Tanner became one of the foremost experts on plant-water relations. His meticulous review of the literature and experiments on plant transpiration efficiency, particularly in crops such as potatoes, onions, and alfalfa, resulted in significant advancements in understanding how plants manage water stress.

In collaboration with Arthur Kelman, Tanner explored the relationship between plant water status and susceptibility to diseases in crops like potatoes. His work on onion umbels provided new insights into how solar radiation and wind interact to cause sun scald, a problem affecting seed production. Tanner’s experimental designs, including his creative use of sequin-covered spheres to simulate heat transfer, reflected his innovative approach to addressing complex scientific problems.

Leadership and mentorship

Throughout his career, Tanner was known for his dedication to mentoring students and collaborating with colleagues. He trained several generations of soil scientists, plant physiologists, and environmental researchers, many of whom went on to distinguished careers in academia and industry. Tanner’s students admired his no-nonsense approach to science, his meticulous standards, and his commitment to experimental integrity.

In the 1980s, Tanner co-authored a seminal review paper with Sinclair, which clarified the relationship between plant dry matter production and transpiration efficiency. This work demonstrated that improvements in crop water-use efficiency would require novel approaches, as the inherent physiological limits of C3, C4, and CAM plants had changed little despite centuries of breeding efforts. Tanner’s research provided a blueprint for future work on optimizing crop water use, especially in the face of global climate change.

Chair of the Department of Soils and later career

In 1984, Tanner was appointed chair of the Department of Soils at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During his tenure, he played a key role in recruiting top scientists and maintaining the department’s international reputation. Tanner took this leadership position seriously, despite his dislike for paperwork and administrative duties, because of his deep loyalty to the institution that had supported him throughout his career.

One of his significant contributions during this period was his involvement in establishing cooperative research initiatives between the university and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). He was a key figure in the Hydrology Research Group, which attracted leading scholars and contributed to important advancements in soil-water interactions. Though the group was dissolved due to administrative restructuring, its impact was long-lasting.

Tanner’s academic achievements were recognized by numerous honors, including the Soil Science Research Award from the Soil Science Society of America and the Outstanding Achievement in Biometeorology Award from the American Meteorological Society. In 1981, he became the first soil scientist to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences, a testament to his contributions to the field.

Personal life

Despite his demanding professional life, Tanner remained deeply connected to his family. He and Kay raised four children, and their home was a hub of hospitality for students, visiting scientists, and friends. Tragically, their youngest son, Clarke, a talented pianist, died of leukemia shortly before accepting a scholarship to Milton College. This loss, along with Tanner’s ongoing battle with the aftereffects of polio and later pancreatic cancer, marked difficult periods in his life, but Tanner remained resilient and focused on his work.

Tanner’s legacy lives on through the many scientists he mentored, the innovations he brought to soil physics and plant physiology, and the high standards of scientific integrity he upheld. Upon his retirement in 1988, the American Society of Agronomy held a symposium in his honor, and selected papers were published in a special issue of Theoretical and Applied Climatology.

Champ Tanner passed away in 1990 from pancreatic cancer, but his contributions to science continue to influence research in soil and environmental sciences.

Honors and awards

• National Academy of Sciences, elected 1981
• Soil Science Research Award, Soil Science Society of America
• Outstanding Achievement in Biometeorology Award, American Meteorological Society

Bibliography

Per OCLC WorldCat

• Tanner, C.B., Sinclair, T.R. (1983). "Efficient Water Use in Crop Production: Research or Re-Search?" Advances in Agronomy, Vol. 42, pp. 1-30.
• Tanner, C.B., Suomi, V.E. (1960). "Evapotranspiration and Energy Balance of Plants and Soil." Journal of Geophysical Research, 65(9), 3043–3055.
• Tanner, C.B. (1959). "Energy Balance Approach to Evapotranspiration from Cropped Surfaces." Soil Science Society of America Journal, 23(1), 1-8.

External links

• Champ B. Tanner on FindAGrave