Paul Stamets

Paul Edward Stamets (born July 17, 1955) is an American mycologist and entrepreneur who sells various mushroom products through his company. He is an author and advocate of medicinal fungi and mycoremediation.

For the fictional character on Star Trek: Discovery, see Paul Stamets (Star Trek).

Paul Stamets
Stamets holding Fomitopsis officinalis
Born (1955-07-17) July 17, 1955
Salem, Ohio [1]
EducationMercersburg Academy
Alma materThe Evergreen State College
SubjectMushrooms[2][3]
Notable awardsBioneers Award from The Collective Heritage Institute (1998)
Award for Contributions to Amateur Mycology from The North American Mycological Association (2013).[4]
Website
fungi.com

Early life and education

Stamets was born in Salem, Ohio.[1] He grew up in Columbiana, Ohio with an older brother, John, his twin brother North, and younger siblings.[5] He graduated from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington with a bachelor's degree in 1979.[6] He began his career in the forest as a logger.[6] He has an honorary doctorate from the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland.[7]

Personal life

Stamets is married to Carolyn "Dusty" Yao.[1] He has two children from a previous marriage, one of whom is named after a hallucinogenic mushroom.[8]

Mycological interest

Stamets credits his late brother, John, with stimulating his interest in mycology,[5] and studied mycology as an undergraduate student.[1] Having no academic training higher than a bachelor's degree, Stamets is largely self-taught in the field of mycology.[9][10]

Paul Stamets received an Invention Ambassador (2014-2015) award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).[11][12]

Stamets plays a significant part in the 2019 documentary film Fantastic Fungi.[13]

The character Eldon Stammets on the NBC series "Hannibal" was named after the real Stamets. The fictional version is a "serial killer who preyed on diabetics and was obsessed with the similarities between the structures of fungi and the human mind."

The character Lieutenant Commander Paul Stamets on the CBS series Star Trek: Discovery was named after the real Stamets. The fictional version is an astromycologist and the chief engineer of the USS Discovery, and is credited with discovering a mycelial network that powers an advanced spore drive.[14]

Books
  • Psilocybe Mushrooms & Their Allies (1978), Homestead Book Company, ISBN 0-930180-03-8
  • Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms (1996, ISBN 1-58008-175-4)
  • Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World (1996, ISBN 0-89815-839-7)
  • Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World (2005, ISBN 1-58008-579-2)
  • Fantastic Fungi: How Mushrooms Can Heal, Shift Consciousness & Save the Planet (2019, ISBN 1683837045, 978-1683837046)

References
  1. Miller, Kenneth (May 31, 2013). "How Mushrooms Can Save the World". Discover. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  2. Myers, Jim (May 26, 2015). "The fungus among us". The Tennessean. Retrieved July 19, 2015. Paul Stamets, widely regarded an expert in the fungal world...
  3. Shea, Carolyn (2014). "Following the Mycelial Path to Discovery and Saving the World". Evergreen Magazine. Retrieved September 5, 2019. ... as an Evergreen student in the 1970s ... [he entered] into the study of mycology with faculty member Michael Beug ...
  4. "NAMA Awards". North American Mycological Association. Archived from the original on September 6, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  5. Upchurch, Michael (June 13, 2014). "Obituary: John Stamets, photographer of Seattle's ever-changing skyline". Seattle Times. He inspired me on my path into the field of mycology, after his travels to Mexico and Colombia in pursuit of magic mushrooms
  6. Isaacson, Andy (November 2009). "Return of the Fungi". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on December 17, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  7. Gilmore, Molly (December 6, 2019). "Paul Stamets becomes fungi phenom with acclaimed documentary and Star Trek character". Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  8. Brown, Patricia Leigh (December 25, 2001). "America's Ardent Fungiphiles Celebrate Their Harvest in Fertile Bay Area". New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  9. O'Hagan, Maureen (December 3, 2010). "Meet Washington's spirited mushroom man". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  10. Trimarco, James (October 1, 2010). "Can Mushrooms Rescue the Gulf?". Yes!. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015. He began his career in the forest as a logger, not as a scientist, and holds no degree higher than a bachelor’s from the Evergreen State College.
  11. "Paul Stamets. Founder, Fungi Perfecti and Host Defense Organic Mushrooms". AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassadors. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  12. "Inaugural Class of Invention Ambassadors Highlights Need for Innovation". American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). July 18, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  13. Catsoulis, Jeannette (October 10, 2019). "'Fantastic Fungi' Review: The Magic of Mushrooms". New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  14. "Star Trek's secret weapon: a scientist with a mushroom fetish bent on saving the planet". CBC Investigates. [CBC.
  15. IPNI.  Stamets.
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