Ram Narayan Tandon received PhD (1939) from University of London, UK. He served as Professor and Head, Department of Botany, University of Allahabad; and Honorary Principal, IAS Training Centre, Mussoorie.

Academic and Research Achievements:Tandon studied fungal taxonomy and fungal flora of the different regions of the country. He prepared an exhaustive list of fungi found in plains and hilly regions of Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring states. His studies on fungal diseases, especially those responsible for causing damage to crop plants and fruit trees, yielded interesting results. He conducted extensive studies on the storage diseases of a number of important fruits and assessed the role of plant pathogens causing spoilage. He also studied the fungal physiology and nutrition of different strains and species of about 45 pathogenic genera of fungi causing storage diseases of fruits and vegetables and leaf spot diseases. He established the unsuitability of various types of classifications based only on nutritional studies of fungi. He examined the post-infection changes brought about in fruits and vegetables under pathogenesis, and suggested control measures against a number of diseases.

Other Contributions: Tandon served as Member, Editorial boards of: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (India) and Journal of the Indian Phytopathological Society.

Awards and Honours: Professor Tandon was awarded Mundkar Memorial Lectureship by the Indian Phytopathological Society (1970). He was elected Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi, Indian Botanical Society, Mycological Society of India, Indian Phytopathological Society; and President, Botany Section, Indian Science Congress (1966).