Dieter Carl Wasshausen

Dieter Carl Wasshausen (born 15 April 1938 in Jena, Germany) is an American botanist who specialized in spermatophytes. In 1962 he started working at the Smithsonian Institution as a technician. He studied at the George Washington University, receiving a PhD in 1972. In 1976 he became chairman of the Botany Department, a post he held until 1982.

Wasshausen has described approximately 247 new species in various families, and five new species have been named for him.