Mary Van Rensselaer Buell

Mary Van Rensselaer Buell (June 14, 1893 – February 18, 1969) was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin.[1][2] She carried on extensive research in nutrition and physiological chemistry at the University of Wisconsin, University of Iowa, Johns Hopkins University, Washington University, and the University of Chicago.

Mary Van Rensselaer Buell
Born(1893-06-14)June 14, 1893
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
DiedFebruary 18, 1969(1969-02-18) (aged 75)
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
NationalityUnited States
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin
Scientific career
FieldsNutrition and physiological chemistry
InstitutionsUniversity of Wisconsin,
University of Iowa,
Johns Hopkins University,
Washington University,
University of Chicago

Early life and education

Mary Van Rensselaer Buell was born in Madison, Wisconsin on June 14, 1893, daughter of Martha (Merry) and Charles Edwin Buell.[3][4] Her father was a lawyer, and her mother was a prominent clubwoman and Cornell University alumna. Mary was one of four sisters; her sister Martha married geophysicist Louis B. Slichter.[5] At the University of Wisconsin she earned a B.A. in chemistry in 1914,[3][6] an M.A. in agricultural chemistry in 1915,[3][7] and a Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1919.[3][8] She was a Kappa Alpha Theta, Phi Beta Kappa, and Sigma Xi.[4][9]

Work

Mary Van Rensselaer Buell was a member of the American Society of Biological Chemists and carried out extensive research on nutrition and physiological chemistry at University of Iowa, Johns Hopkins University, Washington University, and the University of Chicago.[4] "She worked on the chemistry of nucleic acids and nucleotides, the relation of hormones to the metabolism of carbohydrates, and the development of ultramicroscopic procedures for the analysis of enzyme activity."[4]

Buell was an assistant in general chemistry at the University of Illinois (1915–1916) and an instructor at the University of Wisconsin (1917–1919).[4] She was an instructor in physical chemistry from 1919 to 1920, and she served as an assistant professor of Home Economics at the University of Iowa from 1920 to 1921.[10]

She was listed among the staff at the Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore, MD, as an assistant professor (1921–1922), and then as an associate professor in the Department of Physiological Chemistry of the School of Medicine (1922–1930).[4][11] She worked with the Department of Medicine from 1930 to 1946.[4]

In 1948, Buell began the first of two appointments at the University of Wisconsin Enzyme Institute, where she was a research associate from 1948 to 1950. She went from there to the school of medicine at Washington University, St. Louis (1950–1954), and then to the University of Chicago School of Medicine (1954–1957), where she became a professor of biochemistry (1957–1960).[4] Upon her "retirement" in 1960, she returned to work at the University of Wisconsin's Enzyme Institute.[1][3][12]

Buell died in 1969, leaving behind an estate valued at $290,637.[13]

References
  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin--Madison (1969). "In memoriam". Badger Chemist. 16: 12. Retrieved 29 March 2015. Mary V. Buell, B.A. '14, MA. '15, Ph.D. (biochemistry) '19—she was the first woman to have earned this degree in our university's Department of Biochemistry—at one time associated with several universities (Iowa, Johns Hopkins, Washington University of St. Louis, the University of Chicago until 1960, and our university to which she had returned, upon retirement in 1960, to continue her research activities in the Wisconsin Enzyme Institute in nutrition, physiological chemistry, medical chemistry—on 18 February 1969, in Madison. With her passing there came to a close an illustrious career in her life work.
  2. Kapsalis, Effie (September 15, 2010). "Ph.D. Pioneers". Smithsonian Institution Archives.
  3. "Noted Chemist Here Dr. Mary V. Buell Dies". The Capital Times. February 18, 1969. p. 19. Retrieved November 11, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Ogilvie, Marilyn; Harvey, Joy (2000). The biographical dictionary of women in science. New York: Routledge. p. 203. ISBN 0-415-92038-8.
  5. Kay Marie, "This Social Whirl," Capital Times (February 7, 1940): 16. via Newspapers.com
  6. Catalogue. University of Wisconsin. 1914. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  7. Catalogue. University of Wisconsin. 1918. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  8. Catalogue. University of Wisconsin. 1921. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  9. Morgan, Bayard Quincy (1917). Phi Beta Kappa; Alpha of Wisconsin Catalogue. Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin. p. 59. ISBN 9781176479555. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  10. Catalogue. University of Iowa. 1921. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  11. "The Johns Hopkins University Circular". 340 (6). Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press. 1922: 16. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin–Madison (1961). "This 'n' That". Badger Chemist: 9. Retrieved 29 March 2015. Mary V. Buell, BA. '14, Ph.D. (biochemstry) '19. is making her home again in Madison. Some-time associate professor of biochemistry at the University of Chicago, she is now a project associate in Wisconsin's Enzyme Institute.
  13. "Mary V. Buell Estate Valued at $290,637". The Capital Times. June 24, 1969. p. 2. Retrieved November 12, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
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