Knut Schmidt-Nielsen

Knut Schmidt-Nielsen (September 24, 1915 – January 25, 2007)^[1] was a prominent figure in the field of comparative physiology and Professor of Physiology Emeritus at Duke University.

Background

Born in Trondheim, Norway. He was educated in Oslo and Copenhagen. He became a student in the laboratory of August Krogh in Copenhagen in 1937. Schmidt-Nielsen moved to the United States, where he studied at Swarthmore College, Stanford University, and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.^[2]

Career

Schmidt-Nielsen published over 275 scientific papers, received the International Prize for Biology and wrote the authoritative text on animal physiology. Schmidt-Nielsen is widely recognized as having made significant contributions to ecophysiology. He has been referred to as "the father of comparative physiology and integrative biology"^[3] and "one of the all-time greats of animal physiology".^[4] He came to Duke University in 1952 and became a James B. Duke Professor in the Department of Biology.

In 1980, Knut Schmidt-Nielsen was elected President of the International Union of Physiological Sciences. He was the founding editor of News in Physiological Sciences. He was a member of the Royal Society of London, the French Academy of Sciences and the United States National Academy of Sciences.^[5] Next to the Biological Science building on Duke's campus is a statue of Schmidt-Nielson looking at a camel, honoring his discovery that a camel stores fat in its hump to serve as a water and energy supply.^{[6] [7]}

Books

• 1972 How Animals Work Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521096928
• 1979 Desert animals: Physiological problems of heat and water Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0486238500
• 1984 Scaling: Why is Animal Size so Important? Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-31987-0
• 1997 Animal Physiology: Adaptation and Environment Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521570985
• 1998 The Camel's Nose: Memoirs Of A Curious Scientist Washington, D.C: Island Press. ISBN 978-1559635127

References