{{short description|American botanist}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}} {{Infobox scientist | honorific_prefix = | name = Sandra Diane Knapp | honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|OBE|FLS|FRS}} | image = Sandy Knapp collecting Solanum sinuatiexcisum - TS 2012.jpg | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1956}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | monuments = | nationality = | other_names = | education = | alma_mater = {{Plainlist| * Pomona College * Cornell University }} | occupation = {{Plainlist| * Botanist * Author }} | employer = Natural History Museum, London | organization = | known_for = | notable_works = | author_abbrev_bot = '''S.Knapp''' | style = | television = | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = | relatives = | awards = | website = }}
'''Sandra Diane Knapp''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|OBE|FLS|FRS}} (born 1956) is an American-born botanist. She is a merit researcher of the Plants Division of the Natural History Museum, London and from 2018 was the president of the Linnean Society of London. While working at the Natural History Museum, London she has overseen the ''Flora Mesoamericana'' inventory of Central American plants. She has published several books on botanical subjects as well as a significant number of scientific articles. In 2016 she was awarded the Linnean Medal. In 2022 she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 2023 she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and was awarded the Engler Medal in Gold by the International Association for Plant Taxonomy.
== Education == Knapp has a B.A. in botany from Pomona College (1978) and a PhD from Cornell University (1986), where she worked with Michael D. Whalen.<ref name="knapp-cornell-cals">{{cite web |title=Sandra Knapp |url=https://plantbio.cals.cornell.edu/people/sandra-knapp/ |website=Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences |access-date=March 19, 2019}}</ref>
== Work == Knapp specialises in various taxa within the genus ''Solanum'', including the ''Geminata'' clade, the Dulcamaroid clade, the ''Thelopodium'' clade, the ''Pteroidea'' group and the tomato (''Solanum lycopersicum'') and relatives. She is also an expert in other taxa within the nightshade family (''Solanaceae''), including the genus ''Nicotiana'' and the tribes ''Anthocercidae'' and ''Juanulloeae.''<ref name="NHM">{{cite web|url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/departments-and-staff/staff-directory/sandra-knapp.html|title=Dr Sandra Knapp|website=Staff Directory|publisher=Natural History Museum|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191122234634/https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/departments-and-staff/staff-directory/sandra-knapp.html|archive-date=2019-11-22|access-date=November 23, 2019}}</ref>
Knapp has collected plants in Central and South America for the Missouri Botanical Garden and Cornell University, among others. She has also worked for the Institute for Botanical Exploration at Mississippi State University.
Since 1992, Knapp has been active as a scientific researcher in the botany department of the Natural History Museum in London.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://nbn.org.uk/dr-sandy-knapp-nbn-conference-2019/|title=Dr Sandy Knapp – NBN Conference 2019|website=National Biodiversity Network|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-11-23}}</ref> She is involved in field work and research in the herbarium. She also contributes to taxonomic research of the ''Geminta'' and ''Dulcamaroid'' clades, in particular in the context of the Planetary Biodiversity Inventory project Solanum, a worldwide research project to map nightshades. She participates in a collaborative project to clarify the genomic evolution of ''Nicotiana''. She is also active in involving the private sector in the implementation of the biodiversity treaty in Gran Chaco. She is an editor of the ''Flora Mesoamericana'' publication series, a project aimed at mapping as many plants as possible found in Mesoamerica .
She has authored several books on botany or botanical exploration and has written over 200 peer reviewed scientific articles.<ref name=":0" /> The French-language edition of her book ''Potted Histories'', entitled ''Le Voyage Botanique'', was awarded the Prix Pierre-Joseph Redouté in 2004, a prize that was established in 2000 in honour of the best French-language plant book in a given year.
She has also published numerous botanical names, in particular taxa within the Nightshade family. Knapp has published three botanical names of passion flowers together with lepidopterist James Mallet. One of them, ''Passiflora macdougaliana'', they named after ''Passiflora'' specialist John MacDougal. MacDougal himself named ''Passiflora sandrae'' after Knapp.
== Committees, panels and societies == She is a member of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Innovator of the Year panel, a member of the Shenzhen Declaration for Plant Sciences Committee, and a member of the National Geographic Grants Committee.<ref name="NHM" /> She did important work in 2011 (at the XVIII International Botanical Congress in Melbourne and in 2017 at the XIX International Botanical Congress in Shenzhen by chairing the committees on botanical nomenclature.<ref>Christina Flann, Nicholas Turland, Anna M. Monro. 2014. Report on botanical nomenclature—Melbourne 2011. XVIII International Botanical Congress, Melbourne: Nomenclature Section, July 18–22, 2011. Phytokeys 41:1–289. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.41.8398</ref><ref>Nicolson, N., Challis, K., Tucker, A., & Knapp, S. 2017. Impact of e-publication changes in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (Melbourne Code, 2012) – did we need to “run for our lives”? BMC Evolutionary Biology 17:116. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-017-0961-8</ref> The changes made had the effect modernizing the nomenclatural rules for fungi, algae, and plants to allow electronic publication of names, and to create a registry of plant names to make it easier to retrieve botanical names. In May 2017 Knapp became the president-elect of the Linnean Society of London, and in May 2018 succeeded Prof. Paul Brakefield as president.<ref>''The Linnean'', Vol. 33, No. 2, Oct. 2017, p. 44, Published by The Linnean Society of London</ref> She is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.<ref name=":1" />
== Scientific outreach == In October 1999, Knapp discussed her book ''Footsteps in the Forest: Alfred Wallace in the Amazon'' on the BBC World Service's ''Science in Action''.<ref name="BBC Science in Action">{{cite episode| title= Outbreak of Parasitic Liver Disease in China | series= Science in Action| series-link= Science in Action (radio programme)| credits= Presenter: Dee Palmer; Guest: Sandra Knapp; Producer: Helen Sharp| network= BBC| station= BBC World Service| url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03jrs7f | airdate= October 4, 1999 | minutes= 14:54| access-date= May 14, 2020 }}</ref> Knapp was an interviewed guest on BBC Radio 3's ''Night Waves'' in July 2013 in a segment about Alfred Russel Wallace.<ref name="BBC Night Waves">{{cite episode| title= Vali Nasr, Alfred Russel Wallace, Ibrahim El-Salahi, Mount Fuji | series= Night Waves| credits= Presenter: Rana Mitter; Interviewed guests: Jim Endersby, Sandra Knapp, Peter Raby| network= BBC| station= BBC Radio 3| url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b033bsff | airdate= July 1, 2013 | minutes= 15:19| access-date= May 14, 2020 }}</ref> She appeared on the BBC Radio 4 programme ''In Our Time'' in May 2014 to explain photosynthesis.<ref name="BBC Photosynthesis">{{cite episode| title= Photosynthesis| series= In Our Time| series-link= In Our Time (radio series)| credits= Presenter: Melvyn Bragg; Guests: Nick Lane, Sandra Knapp, John Allen; Producer: Thomas Morris | network= BBC| station= BBC Radio 4|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0435jyv | airdate= May 15, 2014 | access-date= May 14, 2020 }}</ref> In October 2014 Knapp was a guest on BBC Radio 4's ''The Museum of Curiosity''. Her hypothetical donation to this fictional museum was the South American freeze-dried potato product Chuño.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Museum of Curiosity: Series 7 Episode 2|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04l0gdv|publisher=BBC Radio 4|access-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref> A year later, in ''Natural History Heroes'', a series collaborating between Radio 4 and the Natural History Museum, London she chose "Miss – not Dr – Alice Eastwood" as her hero.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06d9pb3|title=BBC Radio 4 Extra – Natural History Heroes, Alice Eastwood|website=BBC|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-11-23}}</ref> In July 2017, Knapp was a guest on the BBC World Service's ''The Forum'', where she discussed Carl Linnaeus.<ref name="BBC Linnaeus">{{cite episode| title= Carl Linnaeus: Naming nature | series= The Forum| series-link= The Forum (radio programme) | credits= Presenter: Quentin Cooper; Guests: Sandra Knapp, Staffan Müller-Wille, Lisbet Rausing | network= BBC| station= BBC World Service| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p057fw58| airdate= July 8, 2017| access-date= May 14, 2020 }}</ref> In October 2019 Knapp appeared on ''In Our Time'', this time to talk about hybrids.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0009t41|title=BBC Radio 4 – In Our Time, Hybrids|website=BBC|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-11-23}}</ref>
== Honours and awards == In 2016 she was awarded, jointly with Georgina Mace, the Linnean Medal of the Linnean Society.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.linnean.org/the-society/medals-awards-prizes-grants/the-linnean-medal|title= The Linnean Medal|publisher= the Linnean Society|access-date= September 9, 2016|archive-date= February 20, 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210220003136/https://www.linnean.org/the-society/medals-awards-prizes-grants/the-linnean-medal|url-status= dead}}</ref> In 2009 she was presented with the Peter Raven Outreach Award for public engagement with science by the American Society of Plant Taxonomists and the UK National Biodiversity Network's John Burnett Medal.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.amacad.org/person/sandra-knapp|title=Sandra Knapp|website=American Academy of Arts & Sciences|language=en|access-date=2019-11-23}}</ref> University College London and Stockholm University have both awarded Knapp with honorary professorships.<ref name=":0" /> In 2022 she was awarded the David Fairchild Medal for Plant Exploration by the United States National Tropical Botanic Garden.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 5, 2022 |title=Dr. Sandra Knapp Awarded 2022 David Fairchild Medal for Plant Exploration |url=https://ntbg.org/news/dr-sandra-knapp-awarded-2022-david-fairchild-medal-for-plant-exploration/ |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=National Tropical Botanical Garden |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=Spring 2022 |title=Sandra Knapp Awarded Fairchild Medal |url=https://ntbg.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/The-Bulletin-2022-Spring-Issue.pdf |journal=The Bulletin of the National Tropical Botanical Garden |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=27}}</ref> Also in 2022 Knapp was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sandra Knapp |url=https://royalsociety.org/people/sandra-knapp-35812/ |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=royalsociety.org}}</ref>
Knapp was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to botany and the public understanding of science.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=63918|supp=y|page=N14|date=31 December 2022}}</ref> In 2023 Knapp was awarded the Engler Medal in Gold by the International Association for Plant Taxonomy in recognition for her outstanding lifetime contribution to taxonomy and systematics of plants, algae, or fungi.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2023-06-20 |title=IAPT Engler Medal in Gold Announcement |url=https://www.iaptglobal.org/single-post/iapt-engler-medal-in-gold-announcement |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=IAPT |language=en}}</ref> This award will be presented in July 2024 at the International Botanical Congress.<ref name=":2" />
==Bibliography== * {{Cite book |publisher = The Natural History Museum| isbn = 978-0-565-09143-9| last = Knapp| first = Sandra| author-mask=0 |title = Footsteps in the Forest: Alfred Wallace in the Amazon| location = London |date=1999}} * {{Cite book |publisher = Scriptum| isbn = 978-1-902686-28-8| last = Knapp| first = Sandra| author-mask=0 |title = Potted Histories: An Artistic Voyage Through Plant Exploration| location = London |year=2003}} *{{Cite book|publisher=The Natural History Museum|isbn = 978-0565093341|last=Knapp|first = Sandra| author-mask=0 |title=Flora: The Art of Plant Exploration. |location= London| year= 2014}} *{{Cite book |last=Knapp |first=Sandra|author-mask=0 |title=Extraordinary orchids |publisher=Natural History Museum, London |year=2021 |isbn=978-0565095-14-7 |location=London |language=English}}
{{botanist|S.Knapp}}
==See also== * :Category:Taxa named by Sandra Knapp
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Scholia}} *{{BHL author|2564}} *[http://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.person.bm000079051 Dr Sandra Knapp] at [http://plants.jstor.org/ JSTOR Global Plants] *[https://vimeo.com/75594160 JSTORies – Dr. Sandy Knapp]
{{Presidents of the Linnean Society of London}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knapp, Sandra}} Category:Living people Category:Pomona College alumni Category:Cornell University alumni Category:Employees of the Natural History Museum, London Category:Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Category:Presidents of the Linnean Society of London Category:Fellows of the Royal Society Category:Linnean Medallists Category:1956 births Category:American emigrants to England Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire