astronomy

Rolf Santesson

Rolf Santesson is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Rolf Santesson rather than just read about it. In short: Rolf Santesson (1916–2013) was a Swedish lichenologist and university lecturer. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 1992 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology.

Key takeaways

Rolf Santesson belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Rolf Santesson to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Rolf Santesson from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Rolf Santesson (1916–2013) was a Swedish lichenologist and university lecturer. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 1992 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology.

Early life and education Santesson was born in 1916 in Trollhättan, Sweden. He was already collecting lichens as a student, investigating the lichen flora of the table mountains of Halleberg and Hunneberg near his home. He entered the University of Uppsala in the 1930s to study botany. It was here he met the flamboyant Professor of Plant Ecology and lichen taxonomist Gustaf Einar Du Rietz, with whom he undertook studies on crustose lichens found on shoreline rocks of Swedish lakes. This work led to a lifelong interest in marine lichens. He earned a B.Sc. in 1938, followed by an M.Sc. in 1939. That same year, joined by zoologist Christian Olrog, Santesson embarked on what was supposed to be an eight-month research excursion in Patagonia (southern South America). Because of the outbreak of war, which made sea travel unsafe, it instead lasted almost two years. Santesson was able to make comprehensive collections with detailed field note-books. Olrog wrote a book in Swedish about their trip called Destination Eldslandet (1943), which tracked the adventures of the expedition. After his return Santesson worked on taxonomic treatments of the material he collected from South America, which resulted in the revision of several genera, including Menegazzia, Cladina, Dolichocarpus, Xanthopeltis, and calicioid lichens. His work on Menegazzia has been called "an important and basic landmark in South American lichenology".

Career In 1946 he moved to Uppsala, where he worked from 1946 to 1950 as an assistant teacher, and from 1953 to 1958 as associate professor at the University of Uppsala. From 1937 to 1946 he was assistant at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm. Between 1938 and 1954 he edited and distributed the exsiccata Lichenes Austroamericani ex herbario Regnelliano. In 1952, Santesson became a Ph.D., defending a doctoral dissertation on foliicolous lichens. From 1973 to 1981, Santesson was professor and director of the Botanical Department at Stockholm's Swedish Museum of Natural History. After his retirement in 1982, Santesson continued working at the Botanical Museum in Uppsala, where he researched lichen parasites as well as helped compile several editions of the book series Lichens of Sweden and Norway. Santesson undertook major lichen-collecting expeditions throughout the world, including Europe (British Isles, France, Madeira, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain); North America (United States; Mexico) Tenerife; Iceland; Africa (Kenya and Tanzania); South America (Patagonia; Peru); and Asia (China; Far East of Russia). Between 1984 and 2008 he distributed the exsiccata series Fungi lichenicoli exsiccati.

Recognition Santesson has been recognized for his intuitive approach in assessing phylogenetic relationships amongst lichens. As Robert Lücking has noted, "he was the first to predict that species with different ascospores but otherwise similar characters, so-called sporomorphs, form closely related series." Although this concept had been largely neglected by other taxonomists, his theory was validated decades later with the use of molecular phylogenetics in the genus Thelotrema. Santesson was awarded the Acharius Medal in 1992 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology. He had a Festschrift dedicated to him for his 80th birthday in 1997. He was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and an Honorary Member of the British Lichen Society.

Eponymy

Santesson has had five genera named in his honour:

Rolfidium Moberg (1986) Santessonia Hale & G.Vobig (1978) Santessoniella Henssen (1997) Santessoniolichen Tomas. & Cif. (1952) Santricharia Xavier-Leite, M.Cáceres & Lücking (2023) Many species have been named after Santesson, including the following: Arthonia santessoniana Wedin & Hafellner (1998); Arthonia santessonii Matzer (1996); Ascochyta santessonii Alstrup & D.Hawksw. (1990); Bachmanniomyces santessonii Etayo (2010); Capronia santessoniana Etayo (2010); Cecidiomyces santessonii U.Braun & Zhurb. (2012); Chroodiscus santessonii Lücking (1991); Collema santessonii Degel. (1974); Corticifraga santessonii Zhurb. & Zavarzin (2007); Fellhanera santessonii Barillas & Lücking (1992); Halecania santessonii M.P.Andreev (2010); Hobsonia santessonii Lowen & D.Hawksw. (1986); Karschia santessonii Hafellner (1979); Laurera santessonii Letr.-Gal. (1958); Lecidea santessonii Hertel (1997); Lettauia santessonii Ihlen & Tønsberg (1996); Micropeltopsis santessonii P.M.Kirk & Spooner (1990); Nectriella santessonii Lowen & D.Hawksw. (1986); Odontotrema santessonii Zhurb., Etayo & Diederich (2002); Opegrapha santessonii Sérus. (1985); Pannaria rolfii Elvebakk (2012); Pannaria santessonii Elvebakk 2011); Pannaria santessonii Swinscow & Krog (1986); Peltula santessonii Swinscow & Krog (1979); Physcia rolfii Moberg (1990); Porina santessonii Makhija, Adaw. & Patw. (1995); Pronectria rolfiana Etayo (2010); Protothelenella santessonii H.Mayrhofer (1987); Pseudocyphellaria santessonii D.J.Galloway (1986); Pyrenidium santessonii Lücking (1998); Rhizocarpon santessonii Timdal (1986); Sticta santessonii D.J.Galloway (1994); Stirtonia santessonii Makhija & Patw. (1987); Taeniolella rolfii Diederich & Zhurb. (1997); Taeniolella santessonii Etayo & Heuchert (2010); Thelomma santessonii Tibell (1976); Thelotrema santessonii Hale (1973); Tremella santessonii Diederich (1994); Tricharia santessoniana Kalb & Vězda (1988); Tricharia santessonii D.Hawksw. (1972); Usnea santessonii Räsänen (1932); Verrucaria santessonii Erichsen (1941); Vouauxiomyces santessonii D.Hawksw. (1981); Xanthoparmelia santessonii T.H.Nash & Elix (1995); and Zwackhiomyces rolfii Etayo (2010).

Selected publications Santesson had more than 70 scientific publications. Some of his major works are listed below:

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Rolf Santesson

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Rolf Santesson claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Rolf Santesson before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Rolf Santesson ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Rolf Santesson

In research: Rolf Santesson appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Rolf Santesson in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Rolf Santesson is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1916 births, 2013 deaths, 20th-century Swedish people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Rolf Santesson outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Rolf Santesson” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Rolf Santesson in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Rolf Santesson means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Rolf Santesson out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rolf Santesson in simple terms?

Rolf Santesson (1916–2013) was a Swedish lichenologist and university lecturer. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 1992 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology.

Why does Rolf Santesson matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Rolf Santesson?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Rolf Santesson.