Wellesley College Carlene Allen "Cardy" Raper (January 9, 1925 – September 5, 2019) was an American mycologist and science writer.
[3] She earned a master's degree in science at the University of Chicago in 1946,[4][5] working on reproduction in the fungi Achlya and Schizophyllum commune.
[11] In 1983 she set up her own independent research laboratory at the University of Vermont,[10][12] where she remained until her retirement in 1994, and then for several more years as an emeritus professor.
As the field of microbiology expanded rapidly during the 1980s and 90s, Raper learned new techniques and dived deeper into the reproductive life of the Schizophyllum commune fungus.
She continued her love of sports (skiing, tennis, sailing), learned to paraglide, and traveled frequently around the globe, visiting her extensive network of scientific friends and former students.
[5] Cardy Raper died after a brief illness at her summer home in Vergennes, Vermont on the shores of her beloved Lake Champlain, on September 5, 2019 at the age of 94.