Nell I. Mondy

Nell I. Mondy (October 27, 1921 – August 25, 2005) was an American biochemist known for her expertise regarding the potato. She spent the majority of her profession at Cornell University where in 1953 she earned a PhD in biochemistry and subsequently served as faculty there for nearly fifty years.[1] In 1997, she received the first Elizabeth Fleming Stier Award.[2]

Nell I. Mondy
Born
Nell Irene Mondy

(1921-10-27)27 October 1921
Pocahontas, Arkansas, United States
Died25 August 2005(2005-08-25) (aged 83)
Ithaca, New York, USA
Alma mater
Known forResearch on the potato,Nutrition
Awards
Scientific career
Fieldschemistry, biochemistry, food science
Institutions
Nell Mondy & potatoes, Cornell University

Biography

Nell Mondy was born in Pocahontas, Arkansas to her father, Daly (sometimes recorded as Daley) who worked as the county tax assessor and mother, Ethel Caroll Mondy (born February 19, 1889).[3] Her father died of tuberculosis in 1924 when Nell was not yet 3 years old.[4][5][6] After his death her mother took up work as a journalist.[7] Ethel Mondy continued to live with Nell throughout the many locations her work took her.[3]

In 1943 she received her undergraduate degree summa cum laude in chemistry at Ouachita Baptist University followed by a master's degree from the University of Texas at Austin two years later.[7][1] While in Austin she became a member of Iota Sigma Pi.[8] In 1953 she received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Cornell University in New York State.[7] She taught at Cornell for 48 years starting as an Associate Professor in Nutrition.[1][7] Nell never married but always lived with her mother who moved with her to Ithaca where Ethel died in 1972.[3][5]

In the winter of 1996 at the age of 75 Mondy was attacked by a teenager which left her partially deaf. Due to this incident she became active in victim's rights and elder safety that prompted bills in the New York Senate and Assembly.[9][10] She championed changes to the support victims receive in terms of restitution, navigating bureaucracy, emotional support, and protection.[11]

Professional Accomplishments

Nell Mondy left a large body of writing and research behind her. Her work can be found in numerous publications describing a wide range of topics surrounding potatoes such as how the chemical content of potatoes is affected by amendments in soil or in how they are packaged.[12][13] Her first book was Experimental Food Chemistry, published in 1980.[14]

in 1960 Mondy was instrumental in setting up the first International Food Congress after receiving a NATO Award to go to Scotland and be a part of a seminar on the recent advances in Food Science.[15][7] In the middle of that decade she worked as a consultant with the R.T. French company, (known today as French's). At Florida State University she worked as a professor of food and nutrition from 1960–1970. Under the US Government she worked for the USDA and from 1979 to 1980 she consulted for the Environmental Protection Agency.[7]

In 2001 she published an autobiography, You Never Fail Until You Stop Trying: The Story of a Pioneer Women Chemist. The book focuses on Dr. Mondy's challenges being a woman in science and her work to improve worldwide food and nutrition, specifically in third world countries.[16]

Awards

[17] References
  1. "CU Emerita Mondy Honored for Work" (newspaper article). The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, New York. June 11, 1997. p. 3.
  2. "Mondy Pioneered Biochem". The Cornell Daily Sun. September 2, 2005. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  3. "Ithacan Dies". The Ithaca Journal. June 2, 1972. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  4. Fourteenth Census of the United States: 1920-Population. United States: Department of Commerce - Bureau of the Census. 1921. pp. Shiloh Township, Randolph County, Arkansas.
  5. Mondy, Nell Irene (2001). You never fail until you stop trying : the story of a pioneer woman chemist. Pittsburgh, Pa.: Dorrance Pub. Co. ISBN 0805946284. OCLC 47629931.
  6. Arkansas Death Record Index 1924-1933. The State of Arkansas. p. 4103.
  7. Two Thousand Notable Americans. United States: American Biographical Institute. 1983. pp. 350. ISBN 9780934544238.
  8. "ISP Gives Annual Tea: Women Chemists to Honor Austinites". The Austin American. April 18, 1945. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  9. Stanforth, Lauren (September 3, 1996). "Seniors and Crime...a call for help". The Ithaca Journal. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  10. "Legislation would help at-risk senior citizens". The Ithaca Journal. March 14, 1997. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  11. Mondy, Nell (April 16, 2001). "Victims: Society's Endangered Species". The Ithaca Journal. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  12. Mondy & Naylor & Phillips, Nell & Lewis & Janet (1984). "Total glycoalkaloid and mineral content of potatoes grown in soils amended with sewage sludge". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 32 (6): 1256–1260. doi:10.1021/jf00126a012.
  13. Gosselin, Barry & MONDY, NELL (2008). "Effect of Packaging Materials on the Chemical Composition of Potatoes". Journal of Food Science.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. Experimental Food Chemistry. Avi Pub. Co. 1980. ISBN 08-705-53437.
  15. "Nell Irene Mondy Obituary". The Ithaca Journal. September 7, 2005.
  16. Pearce, Jeremy (2005-09-03). "Nell I. Mondy, Biochemist and Potato Expert, Dies at 83". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  17. "Graduate Women of Science - HONORARY MEMBERSHIP AWARD RECIPIENTS". Graduate Women in Science. November 18, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  18. "The Potato Association of America - honorary life members list". The Potato Association of America.
  19. "Historic Fellows of the AAAS". American Association for the Advancement of Science.
  20. "IFT Fellows". Institute of Food Technologists. 14 November 2019.
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