ROBERT A. BLANCHETTE

Department of Plant Pathology
University of Minnesota
1991 Upper Buford Circle, 495 Borlaug Hall
St. Paul, MN 55108-6030

Phone – 612-625-0202 Fax – 612-625-9728
E-mail= robertb@umn.edu

http://forestpathology.coafes.umn.edu

EDUCATION:

Merrimack College - Biology/Botany B.A. 1973
University of New Hampshire - Forest Resources M.S. 1975
Washington State University - Plant Pathology Ph.D. 1978

EMPLOYMENT:

Professor and Wood Microbiologist 1988-present, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota
Associate Professor 1984-1988, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota
Assistant Professor 1980-1984, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota
Department of Plant Pathology Postdoctoral Research, Washington State University and Teaching Associate 1978-1980

HONORS:

Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (awarded 2000)
Fellow, American Phytopathological Society (awarded 1999)
Fellow, International Academy of Wood Science (awarded 1989)
Hans Merensky Fellow for Wood Science, 1991
Distinguish Service Award, 1996, American Society of Microbiology
United States Department of Agriculture 1997-honor award for research in environmental science – group award with M. Akhtar, T.K. Kirk and others at the USDA Forest Products Laboratory

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES:

American Phytopathological Society
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Society for Microbiology
Society of American Foresters
Mycological Society of America
International Society of Wood Anatomists
British Mycological Society
International Biodeterioration Society
Antarctic Heritage Trust
American Polar Society

PUBLICATIONS :
2 Books
14 United States patents and numerous international patents
over 200 book chapters and refereed journal papers

A list of selected publications:

Eriksson, K. E., R. A. Blanchette, and P. Ander. 1990. Microbial Degradation of Wood and Wood Components. Springer Verlag, Berlin, New York. 407 p.

Blanchette, R .A. 1991. Delignification by wood-decay fungi. Annual Review of Phytopathology 29:381-398

Blanchette, R. A. and A.R. Biggs. 1991. Defense mechanisms of woody plants against fungi. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, New York. 470 p.

Blanchette, R.A. J.E. Haight, R.K. Koestler, P.B. Hatchfield, and D. Arnold. 1994. Assessment of deterioration in archaeological wood from ancient Egypt. Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 33:55-70.

Blanchette, R.A. 1997. Haploporus odorus: A sacred fungus in traditional Native American culture of the northern plains. Mycologia 89:233-240.

Blanchette, R.A., E.W. Krueger, J.E. Haight, M. Akhtar, and D.E. Akin. 1997. Cell wall alterations in loblolly
pine wood decayed by the white rot fungus Cerioporiopsis subvermispora. Journal of Biotechnology 53:203-213.

Behrendt, C.J. and R.A. Blanchette. 1997. Biological processing of pine logs for pulp and paper production with Phlebiopsis gigantea. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 63:1995-2000.

Blanchette, R. A. 1998. A guide to wood deterioration caused by microorganisms and insects. In The Structural Conservation of Panel Paintings. Edited by K. Dardes and A. Rothe. pp 55-68. J. Paul Getty Museum Publications, Los Angeles. This entire book is now on line. Reprint -see page 55 - 67 of this pdf.

Blanchette, R. A. 2000. A review of microbial deterioration found in archaeological wood from different environments. International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation. 46:189-204.

Burnes, T.A., R. A. Blanchette and R.L. Farrell. 2000. Bacterial biodegradation of extractives and patterns of bordered pit membrane attack in pine wood. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 66:5201-5205.

Blanchette, R. A. 2001. Fungus ashes and Tobacco: the use of Phellinus igniarius by the indigenous people of North America. Mycologist 15:4-9.

Filley, T. R., R. A. Blanchette, E. Simpson and M. L. Fogel. 2001. Nitrogen cycling by wood decomposing soft-rot fungi in the “King Midas tomb”, Gordion, Turkey. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 98: 1333346-13350.

Behrendt, C. J. and R. A. Blanchette. 2001. Biological control of blue stain in pulpwood. Mechanisms of control used by Phlebiopsis gigantea. Holzforschung 55:238-245.

Blanchette, R. A., B. W. Held and R. L. Farrell. 2002. Defibration of wood in the expedition huts of Antarctica: an unusual deterioration process occurring in the polar environment. Polar Record 38:313-322.

Smith J. A., R. A. Blanchette and M. Ostry. 2002. Etiology of bronze leaf disease of Populus. Plant Disease 86:462-469.

Blanchette, R. A., C. C. Renner, B. W. Held, C. Enouch and S. Angstman. 2002. The current uses of Phellinus igniarius by the Eskimos of western Alaska. Mycologist 16:142-145.

Tennisson, D., R. A. Blanchette and T. C. Windes. 2002. Differentiating aspen and cottonwood in prehistoric wood from Chacoan great house ruins. Journal of Archaeological Science 29:521-527.

Blanchette, R.A. 2003. Deterioration in Historic and Archaeological Woods from Terrestrial Sites. In: Koestler, R.J., Koestler, V.R., Charola, A.E., and Nieto-Fernandez, F.E., (Eds.), Art, Biology, and Conservation: Biodeterioration of Works of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 328-347.

Held, B. W., J. M. Thwaites, R. L. Farrell, and R. A. Blanchette. 2003. Albino strains of Ophiostoma species for biological control of sapstaining fungi. Holzforschung 57:237-242.

Jurgens, J. A., R. A. Blanchette, P. J. Zambino and A. David. 2003. Histology of white pine blister rust in needles of resistant and susceptible eastern white pine. Plant Disease 87:1026-1030.

Blanchette, R. A. B. W. Held, J. A. Jurgens, D. L. McNew, T. C. Harrington, S. Duncan, R. L. Farrell. 2004. Wood destroying soft-rot Fungi in the historic expeditions huts of Antarctica. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 70:1328-1335.

Blanchette, R. A., B. W. Held, J. A. Jurgens, J. Aislabie, S. Duncan and Roberta L. Farrell. 2004.
Environmental pollutants in Antarctica from the Robert F. Scott and Ernest H. Shackleton expeditions during the ‘Heroic Era’ of exploration. Polar Record 40:143-151.

Blanchette, R. A., B. W. Held, J. A. Jurgens and J. E. Haight. 2004. Wood deterioration in Chacoan great houses of the southwestern United States. Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites 6:204-212.

Smith, J. A., R. A. Blanchette and G. Newcombe. 2004. Molecular and morphological characterization of the willow rust fungus, Melampsora epitea, from arctic and temperate hosts in North America. Mycologia 96 1330-1338.

Held, B. W., J. A. Jurgens, B. E. Arenz, S. M. Duncan, R. L. Farrell and R. A. Blanchette. 2005. Environmetal factors influencing microbial growth inside the historic huts of Ross Island, Antarctica. International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation 55:45-53.

Kromroy, K. W., R.A. Blanchette and D.F. Grigal. 2005. Armillaria species on small woody plants, small woody debris, and root fragments in red pine stands. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 35: 1487-1495.

Thwaites, J. M., R. L. Farrell, S. Duncan, S. D. Reay, R. A. Blanchette and others. 2005. Survey of potential sapstain fungi on Pinus radiata in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 43:653-663.

Smith, J.A., Blanchette, R.A., Jacobs, J.J., Higgins, L., Witthun, B. A., Gillman, J. H. and A. J. David. 2006. Proteomic comparison of needles from blister rust-resistant and susceptible Pinus strobus seedlings reveals up-regulation of putative disease resistance proteins. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 19: 150-160.

Smith, J.A., Blanchette, R.A., Burnes, T.A., Gillman, J.H. and A. J. David. 2006. Epicuticular wax and white pine blister rust resistance in selections of Pinus strobus L. Phytopathology 96: 171-177.

Schwingle, B. W., J. A. Smith, R. A. Blanchette, S. Gould, and B. L. Blanchette, J. Pokorny and S. D. Cohen. 2006. First Report of Dieback and Leaf Lesions on Rhododendron sp. Caused by Phytophthora hedraiandra in the United States. Plant Disease 90:109. Published on-line as DOI: 10.1094/PD-90-0109A.

Held, B. W., J.A. Jurgens, S.M. Duncan, R.L. Farrell and R.A. Blanchette. 2006. Assessment of fungal diversity and deterioration in a wooden structure at New Harbor, Antarctica. Polar Biology 29:526-531.

Arenz, B. E., B. W. Held, J. A. Jurgens, R. L. Farrell and R. A. Blanchette. 2006. Fungal diversity in soils and historic wood from the Ross Sea Region of Antarctica. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 38:3057-3064.

Schwingle, B. W., J. A. Smith and R. A. Blanchette. 2007. Phytophthora speices associated with diseased woody ornamentals in Minnesota nurseries. Plant Disease 91:97-102.

Schindelholz, E., R. A. Blanchette, D. Cook, M. Drews, S. Hand, B. W. Held, J. A. Jurgens and B. Seifert. 2007. An Evaluation of supercritical drying and PEG/Freeze drying of waterlogged archaeological wood. Report to the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, National Park Service. MT-2210-05-NC-10. 55 pages. (Reprint)

Burnes, T. A., R. A. Blanchette, J. A. Smith and J. J. Luby. 2008. Black currant clonal identity and white pine blister rust resistance. HortScience 43:200-202.

Schwingle, B. W. and R. A. Blanchette. 2008. Host range investigations of new, undescribed and common Phytophthora spp. isolated from ornamental nurseries in Minnesota. Plant Disease 92:642-647.

Konkol, N. R., C J. McNamara, R. A. Blanchette, E. May and R. Mitchell. 2008. Microbes can damage but also help restore artifacts. Microbe 3(12): 563-567.