Ernest Aubrey Ball (22 December 1909, Grady County, Oklahoma – 30 August 1997, Santa Cruz) was an American professor of botany and a pioneer of meristem culture.
[4] In 1977 Ball moved to the University of California, Santa Cruz to continue working on tissue culture in redwoods.
He excised the shoot tips with scalpels made of razor blade corners spot welded onto sewing needles which could be inserted into wooden holders.
Ernie continued to carry out research and added to his initial findings, but he was a basic scientist and paid limited if any attention to the practical implications of his work.
As a result, few knew or became aware of the fact that he was the "father" (or "uncle") of plant propagation through tissue culture (micropropagation).