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Office of noted microbiology manual moves to Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at UGA

Office of noted microbiology manual moves to Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia

Athens, Ga. -The editorial office of Bergey’s Manual Trust (BMT) is moving from Michigan State University to the University of Georgia.

William B. Whitman, professor and head of microbiology in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, has been appointed director of the editorial office and supervising editor of Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology (BMSB).

The Manual is an encyclopedia on the taxonomy and systematics of prokaryotes, including bacteria and archaea, and is one of the major reference works in microbiology. It contains complete lists and descriptions of all validly published prokaryotic species, genera and higher taxa.

It has been published continuously since 1923, and it is widely used at universities and research and clinical laboratories. The last complete edition, published between1984-1989, was in four volumes and totaled 2,650 pages. In addition, the Trust prepared the single volume summary entitled Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology.

The Bergey’s Manual Trust is a nonprofit organization, and its income is used solely for the purpose of preparing, editing and publishing revisions and successive editions of the BMSB and any supplementary publications, as well as providing for any research that may be necessary or desirable in such activities.

In addition to publication of the manuals, the BMT also presents the Bergeys Award and the Bergey Medal. The Bergey Award is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to bacterial taxonomy. It has been awarded annually since 1979 to distinguished microbiologists from all over the world. The Bergey Medal is given in recognition of life-long contributions to the field of systematic bacteriology. It has been awarded since 1994.