Iwan Ho

Opening statement:

A Prominent Scientist IWan Ho (1925-2024)

Iwan was born on April 15, 1925, in Suzhou, China. He was one of seven children, the third of four sons, and was raised by his grandmother while his parents worked in Shanghai. At the age of 13, his grandmother passed away, and he moved to live with his parents. He attended college in Shanghai. In 1946, he was invited to conduct research related to plant health for a sugar manufacturer in Taiwan.

In 1956, Iwan came to the United States to pursue graduate studies in botany at Louisiana State University, where he earned a master’s degree in 1958. Afterward, he worked in Seattle and later moved to Corvallis, Oregon, to work for the USDA Forestry Service.

Iwan published a high-impact research paper in Nature, Vol. 244, No. 131, in July 1973, entitled “Endomycorrhizae: Translocation of 14C from Festuca plants to their endomycorrhizal fungi.”He also discovered a new species in the soil, which was named after him. 

Iwan received Certificates of Achievement from American Men & Women of Science (in 1986 and 1989) and was named an honoree in Marquis Who’s Who in the World (in 1989/1990 and 1997). He was selected for inclusion in The International Directory of Distinguished Leadership for his outstanding contributions to mycorrhizal research.

While working for the USDA Forest Service, Iwan studied and earned his Ph.D. from Oregon State University in 1985. He published more than 17 articles after 1973, which are widely cited in the scientific community.

Iwan and Hui met at an international scientific conference held in China by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1984. Years later, after Iwan retired in 1995 at the age of 70, he began to court Hui.

At the time, China had received funding for a project from the United Nations to scientifically protect and develop China’s primeval forests. Dozens of forest experts from around the world visited several primeval forest areas in northwest China for over a month, including the famous Changbai Mountain. 

Hui, a regular reporter for the Beijing Evening News covering scientific and medical news, was invited to attend the conference. Following the event, she and Iwan maintained a casual friendship, exchanging greetings at the end of each year. After 11 years, Hui returned to China from Japan, and Iwan saw an opportunity to become more serious in his courtship. He told Hui that he would visit Beijing every four months until she gave him an answer. Hui, who was 29 years younger than Iwan, thought it was just a joke, but Iwan kept his word and flew to Beijing every four months. After 14 years of knowing Iwan, Hui realized he was a uniquely good man. She gladly said yes, and they celebrated with a large engagement party in Beijing.

On July 14, 1998 (the anniversary of the start of the French Revolution, which Iwan chose), a judge in Corvallis held a wedding ceremony for Iwan and Hui at the Corvallis Courthouse.

Iwan was deeply committed to helping others. When he was applying for graduate studies, the head of the Louisiana State University Botany Department offered him a full scholarship, which deeply touched him. From that point on, Iwan was determined to be charitable. He supported an orphan in South America from infancy until high school graduation. When a professor mentioned having a research grant that was not approved and not knowing what to do with his Chinese graduate student from Gansu, China, Iwan anonymously supported the student with $100 per month until the student graduated. 

Iwan also consistently donated to the Botany Departments of Fudan University in Shanghai and Louisiana State University, the School of Forestry at Oregon State University (where he earned his Ph.D.), and Brandeis University (where his son Tomur studied). He also donated a chair to the OMSI Science Museum in 1992.

Iwan’s primary focus was on plants, forests, and soils, but his interests were wide-ranging. He loved and carefully observed everything in nature. One day, Hui noticed Iwan concentrating on something smaller than a cabbage seed on the car window. Hui has always been afraid of small things and immediately felt itchy all over her body. She reached out to crush it, but Iwan stopped her, saying that its life cycle was very short and there was no need to kill it—it wouldn’t live long. He explained that under a microscope, such things are very beautiful.

Iwan was also an artist and a musician. The home was filled with his paintings. He listened to Tchaikovsky the most. He built the house we live in, made his own desk, and grew vegetables and flowers. We’re amazed at how he could accomplish so much in addition to his full-time job.

Iwan passed away peacefully at his home in Corvallis at the age of 99, at 12:30 a.m. on December 30, 2024. He is survived by his son, Tomur Ho; his wife, Chenhui Ho; and his siblings in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Fuzhou, China.

A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, January 9th, 10am -11am at Compassion Church, 1525 NW Kings Blvd, Corvallis, OR 97330

He will be laid to rest at Mt. Union Cemetery, 2987 Mount Union Avenue, Corvallis, Oregon 97333

List of Publications by Iwan Ho in the field of Mycology. 

• I. HO & 
• J. M. TRAPPE. (1973). 

Translocation of 14C from Festuca Plants to their Endomycorrhizal Fungi. Nature New Biology volume 244, pages 30–31 (1973). https://www.nature.com/articles/newbio244030a0

In 1993, Iwan published a research paper entitled “ Analyses of nutrient uptake by six species of vesicular-arbuscule mycorrhizal fungi in Zea mays L.” in Indian Journal of Mycology and Plant Pathology. (Volume. 23, issue Number 1, pages 64-69 ).