Dr. Mireya Correa (February 6, 1940 – November 22, 2022) was born in 1940 Panama. She obtained a Licenciada or BS (1963) in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Panama and her MS (1967) in Botany from Duke University. She was given an Honorary Doctorate (2012) from the University of Panama. After her MS, she served as the Founder and Director of the Herbarium in the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Panama.
While the Herbarium carried over 70,000 specimens, she created an online database of 12,000 digitized specimens. In 1982, she joined the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute as a Staff Scientist. During her tenure, she transformed STRI into the regional center for digitizing plant specimens for the Global Plant Initiative and established collaborations in over 70 countries. She helped bring significant national attention to Panamanian plant life, earning her a key to Panama City (2008), the José Cuatrecasas Medal for Excellence in Tropical Botany (2008), and named an Outstanding Women in their Professions (1996) by the Federación de Mujeres de Negocios y Profesionales de la República de Panamá.
REFERENCES:
- https://stri.si.edu/story/a-pioneer
- https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/697571
- https://www.metrolibre.com/cultura/despiden-a-la-primera-botanica-panamena-KD3072729#google_vignette
- https://web.archive.org/web/20170901025559/http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/hea/sws/docs/Correa2012CV.pdf
IMAGE Source
Jorge Aleman: STRI, June 27, 2012
Public Domain
