Galston, Arthur W(illiam) (1920– )

US botanist. An authority on light and hormones as major influences in plant development, he made influential contributions to studies of plant growth hormones, photobiology, circadian rhythms, and the biochemistry of photoperiodism. He was one of the first American scientists to enter the People's Republic of China, from where he explored the ecological effects of herbicides in Indochina, especially Vietnam. He taught and researched at the California Institute of Technology (1943–55), before moving on to Yale University (1955–90). He was born in New York City.