Born in 1911, Ernst Dornfeld began his teaching career at OSU in 1938 as an Instructor in the Department of Zoology. Specializing in the study of butterflies, Dornfeld also researched and taught comparative vertebrate histology and cytochemistry, cytology of the adrenal gland, and somatic polyploidy. In 1980 he wrote and published the book, The Butterflies of Oregon. In addition to his post as Instructor and Professor, Dornfeld also served as Chairman of the Department of Zoology from 1950 to 1976. Dornfeld became Professor Emeritus in 1978.
