Plant pathologist. Irving E. Melhus received his B.S. (1906) from Iowa State College and his Ph. D. (1912) from the University of Wisconsin. He taught high school in Iowa (1907-1908); was an Assistant (1908-1909) and Instructor (1910-1911) in Botany at the University of Wisconsin; a Plant Pathologist for the Dept. of Agriculture (1912-1916); and then became an Associate Professor and Professor (1916-1969) of Plant Pathology at Iowa State College.
Melhus served as the state botanist of Iowa (1937-1946) and also directed the Guatemala Tropical Research Center (1946). He was a member of numerous botanical societies, including the American Phytopathological Society, the Botanical Society of America, the Crop Protection Institute, and the Torrey Botanical Club.
From the description of Papers, 1907-1963. (Iowa State University). WorldCat record id: 36456422
