Post WWII Evolution at Vanderbilt
Postwar Vanderbilt saw evolutionary research flourishing, from coneflower conservation to coevolution with yucca moths. This case showcases key figures such as professors Elsie Quarterman, Olle Pellmyr, and David McCauley, whose work shaped the university’s legacy in plant biology, ecology, and genetics. Historical course catalogs trace the introduction of classes on human and organic evolution while biological specimens and archival photographs highlight how evolution remained central to research and teaching into the late 20th century.
![[3D-Printed Model of a Bacteriophage Similar to Ones Max Delbrück Researched in His Work at Vanderbilt in the 1940s]](https://exhibitions.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/111/2025/09/Bacteriophage-500-500x480.png)
![[Rock Hammer Similar to One Owned by Charles W. Wilson, Jr]](https://exhibitions.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/111/2025/09/Working-with-the-Turkana-community-shows-us-how-ancient-adaptations-shape-health-today.-–-Amanda-Lea-Facebook-Post-6-640x480.jpg)
![[Collage of Photographs of Professors Charles W. Wilson, Jr., Charles E. Farrell, James J. Friauf and Charles F. Rodell]](https://exhibitions.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/111/2025/09/timeline-faculty-1500-640x480.png)
![[Quote on the Importance of Studying Evolution]](https://exhibitions.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/111/2025/07/Elsies-Quote-on-Evolution-at-Vanderbilt-1500-640x480.png)
![[Elsie Quarterman in Buttrick Greenhouse]](https://exhibitions.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/111/2025/06/pa.por_.quae_.010.10-1000-640x480.jpg)
![[Pressed Coneflower, A Native Plant Thought Extinct, Rediscovered by Elsie Quarterman]](https://exhibitions.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/111/2025/09/Working-with-the-Turkana-community-shows-us-how-ancient-adaptations-shape-health-today.-–-Amanda-Lea-Facebook-Post-7-640x480.jpg)
![[Note From: Trillium Channellii, Sp. Nov. (Trilliaceae) in Japan, and T. Camschatcense Ker Gawler, Correct Name for the Asiatic Diploid Trillium.]](https://exhibitions.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/111/2025/06/Congratulations-graduates-1080-640x480.png)
![[Cover of Evolution: International Journal of Organic Evolution. Vol. 29, No. 2]](https://exhibitions.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/111/2025/06/Evolution-Cover-1975-667-640x480.png)
![[Portrait of Robert “Ben” Channell]](https://exhibitions.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/111/2025/06/pa.por_.char_.002-1500-640x480.jpg)