We are saddened to share that our colleague James L. Hamrick passed away on Tuesday, June 30, 2026 at the age of 84. We will miss Jim as valued colleague and mentor.

Jim grew up in Virginia and earned his doctoral degree in Genetics from Berkeley in 1970. He joined the University of Kansas as an assistant professor in 1971, rose through the ranks to Professor (1980) and served as head of the Department of Botany 1984-85. Jim joined the UGA Plant Biology Department in 1986 and was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 1989 in recognition to his many contributions to science. He served as a research professor from 1990 to1995 and was head of the department from 1992 to1995. In 2000 he was recognized as a distinguished research professor and honored as a USG Regents’ Professor in 2008.

Jim’s contributions to science are manyfold. Supported by research grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Park Service and the Environmental Protection Agency, Jim and his lab studied the genetics and evolution of natural plant populations in North America and the Tropics, resulting in nearly 300 published research articles. He also was an innovative teacher and taught many courses. He served the broader scientific community as associate editor to numerous academic journals and served on many national and international committees and advisory boards, including for the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS). 

Jim and many of his graduate students and postdoctoral advisees conducted tropical research primarily at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s Barro Colorado Island in Panama and on OTS field stations throughout Costa Rica. Among the many extraordinary trees he and his students studied was his favorite tree, the Guanacaste tree (Enterolobium cyclocarpum), the national tree of Costa Rica. He mapped and revisited hundreds of these trees every year for decades.

Jim was an exceptionally dedicated mentor to more than 30 Master’s and Ph.D. students as well as to many other students who sought his help. Jim never turned away a student in need and helped countless scholars launch illustrious careers both within and outside academia.

Jim was a leader at the forefront of tropical plant biology in the US and beyond and remained a great colleague in retirement. He will be greatly missed by many. Our thoughts are with his wife and our colleague Paola A. Barriga Albuja and their whole family!  

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, appreciations can be made to the UGA Plant Biology Research and Education Fund which benefits the department through graduate and undergraduate scholarships, fellowships, travel, and publication costs. 

Hear Jim talk about his work on OTS research stations here.