Hellen Linkswiler
Hellen Linkswiler | |
---|---|
Born | January 5, 1912 |
Died | June 24, 1984 | (aged 72)
Alma mater | Oklahoma State University–Stillwater University of Wisconsin–Madison |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Human nutrition |
Institutions | University of Alabama University of Nebraska–Lincoln University of Wisconsin–Madison |
Doctoral advisor | May Reynolds Carl A. Baumann |
Doctoral students | Constance Kies |
Hellen M. Linkswiler (January 5, 1912 – June 24, 1984) was an American dietitian and nutrition scientist who researched human mineral requirements and amino acids. She was a professor of foods and nutrition at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1960 to 1981.
Early life
[edit]Linkswiler was born in Lawton, Oklahoma on January 5, 1912, to Cleveland and Agnes Linkswiler.[1] She had eight siblings and was raised during the Dust Bowl.[1] In 1932, she graduated from Pawnee High School.[1] She earned a B.S. in home economics education with a minor in English from the Oklahoma State University–Stillwater in 1939.[1]
Career
[edit]From 1944 to 1946, Linkswiler served in the SPARS during which time she worked as a dietitian overseeing the baking of hundreds of pies per day.[1] She researched vitamin B6 metabolism at the University of Wisconsin–Madison's department of foods and nutrition.[1] She earned a M.S. in food and nutrition under May Reynolds in 1946 and a Ph.D. with a joint major in food and nutrition and biochemistry in 1951.[1] Reynolds and Carl A. Baumann were her doctoral advisors.[1]
Linkswiler joined the department of food and nutrition at the University of Alabama as an associate professor from 1951 to 1954.[1] She was a professor of foods and nutrition at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 1954 to 1960.[1] While there, she became friends with faculty member Hazel Fox.[1] They conducted studies on amino acids in corn.[1] Linkswiler also researched human mineral requirements.[1] In 1960, she joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a professor in the department of foods and nutrition and was paid US$12,000 (equivalent to $123,591 in 2023) annually.[1]
Following the retirement of her doctoral advisor Reynolds in 1962, she assumed some of her responsibilities.[1] From 1976 to 1979, Linkswiler was treasuer-elect and treasurer of the American Society of Clinical Nutrition, the first non-physician to be elected to an office at the society.[1] She retired in 1981 and was granted emeritus status.[1][2] In 1983, she became a fellow of the American Institute of Nutrition.[1]
Personal life
[edit]Linswiler was a member of the Westwood Christian Church.[1] In 1960, a bank required that she have a male cosigner to qualify her for a mortgage when she moved to Madison, Wisconsin.[1] Linkswiler died June 24, 1984, of cancer.[1]
References
[edit]- 1912 births
- 1984 deaths
- People from Lawton, Oklahoma
- American women nutritionists
- Fellows of the American Society for Nutrition
- American dietitians
- Nutritional scientists
- 20th-century American women scientists
- Scientists from Oklahoma
- Oklahoma State University alumni
- University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
- University of Alabama faculty
- University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty
- University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty
- SPARS personnel
- Graduate Women in Science members