Gary Allan Polis (1946 – March 27, 2000) was an arachnologist and the world's leading expert on scorpions.
| Gary Polis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Los Angeles, CA |
| Died | Sea of Cortez, Baja California, Mexico |
| Alma mater | University of California, Riverside |
| Known for | Study of Scorpions |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Arachnology, Ecology, Environmental Science |
Education and career
Polis was born in Los Angeles, California. He graduated from Loyola University in 1969. Polis received an M.A. in 1975 and a Ph.D. in biology in 1977 from the University of California, Riverside.
While at UC Riverside, Polis studied under Dr. Roger Farley. He conducted a variety of experiments and did studies of Vaejovidae. He went on to teach at Vanderbilt University from 1979 to 1992 and wrote several books; his Biology of Scorpions has been referred to as the "scorpion Bible." Polis was the subject of the book Scorpion Man by Laurence Pringle.
Polis was noted as a desert ecologist and advised the government on desert scorpions during the Gulf War.
In 1998, Polis became Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California, Davis, a post he held until his death in 2000.
Death
Polis died in a seastorm in the Sea of Cortez during an ecological expedition. He was cited by a survivor as attempting to help others reach safety as a priority before his own. On the expedition in the Sea Of Cortez were colleagues from Japan, one of whom also died in the accident.
References
- "Missing Scorpion Expert Fondly Recalled as Lifelong Adventurer". Los Angeles Times. 2000-03-30. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
- Obituary at Marshall University
- New York Times obituary
- "Emotional UC-Davis survivors recall heroes who died saving them". 2000-03-31.
External links
- Gary Polis Papers at Special Collections Dept. Archived 2016-09-26 at the Wayback Machine, University Library, University of California, Davis