Walter Gams

Konrad Walter Gams
Born(1934-08-09)9 August 1934
Died9 April 2017(2017-04-09) (aged 82)
Resting placeBomarzo, Italy
CitizenshipAustrian
Alma materUniversity of Zurich (MSc)
University of Innsbruck
SpouseSophia Aaltine Luinge
ChildrenTwo daughters
AwardsMycologist Award of the Mycological Society of America (2005)
Anton de Bary medal of the Deutschen Phytomedizinischen Gesellschaft (2012)
Scientific career
FieldsMycology
InstitutionsWesterdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute
Author abbrev. (botany)W.Gams

Konrad Walter Gams (9 August 1934 – 9 April 2017) was an Austrian mycologist. He worked as a scientist for his entire career at the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures (Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute) in the Netherlands. He served in the international authority on classification of fungi, the Special Committee on Fungi and Lichens (renamed Nomenclatural Committee for Fungi), from which he contributed to the development of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants. Some species of fungi he identified became sources of pharmaceutical drugs such as cephalosporin C (antibiotic) from Sarocladium strictum and Acremonium chrysogenum, and ciclosporin (immunosuppressant) from Tolypocladium inflatum.