Ruth F. Allen

Ruth F. Allen
Born 1879
Died 1963 (aged 8384)
Alma mater University of Wisconsin, PhD, 1909
Occupation Plant pathologist
Employer University of Wisconsin, Michigan State College, Wellesley College, US Department of Agriculture
Known for Work on the cytology of rust fungi. First woman to obtain a PhD in the Department of Botany at the University of Wisconsin.

Ruth Florence Allen (1879 – 1963) was an American plant pathologist. She increased the understanding of cytology of rust fungi, which are a chief cause of cereal diseases. These diseases can have a devastating effect on coffee, apple and pine trees.

Allen received a PhD from the University of Wisconsin in 1909, becoming the first woman to obtain a PhD in the Department of Botany.[1] Over the course of her career she held positions at the University of Wisconsin, Michigan State College, Wellesley College and the US Department of Agriculture.[2]

The American Phytopathological Society established the Ruth Allen Award in 1965 to honor "individuals who have made an outstanding, innovative research contribution that has changed, or has the potential to change, the direction of research in any field of plant pathology."[3]

See also

References

  1. American Phytopathological Society. "Ruth F. Allen". Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  2. Bailey, Martha J. (1994). American Women in Science:A Biographical Dictionary. ABC-CLIO, Inc. ISBN 0-87436-740-9.
  3. American Phytopathological Society. "Ruth Allen Award". Retrieved 1 June 2011.