Katherine Esau facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Katherine Esau
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 3 April 1898 Yekaterinoslav, Russian Empire
|
| Died | 4 June 1997 (aged 99) |
| Nationality | German, American |
| Alma mater | University of California, Davis |
| Awards | National Medal of Science (1989) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany |
| Thesis | Some pathological changes in the anatomy of leaves of the sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) affected by the curly-top disease (1931) |
Katherine Esau (born April 3, 1898 – died June 4, 1997) was a German-American botanist. She was famous for her important work on plant anatomy, which is the study of the inside structure of plants. She even received the National Medal of Science for her amazing contributions.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Katherine Esau was born on April 3, 1898, in Yekaterinoslav, which is now Dnipro, Ukraine. Her family were Mennonites of German background.
She started studying farming in Moscow. However, after a year, her family moved to Germany because of the Bolshevik Revolution. In Germany, she finished her studies at the Agricultural College of Berlin. There, she learned about how to improve plants through breeding.
In 1922, Esau's family moved to California, USA. Katherine began working for the Spreckels Sugar Company. She helped research how to make sugar beet plants stronger against a disease called curly top virus.
In 1927, Esau became a graduate assistant in the Botany Division at the University of California, Davis. She continued her education and started working on her PhD at the University of California, Berkeley in 1928. She earned her doctorate degree in 1931. In 1932, she was also chosen to join the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, which recognizes excellent students.
After getting her PhD, Esau joined the faculty at the University of California, Davis. She worked there as a botanist until she retired at age 67.
Katherine Esau passed away on June 4, 1997, in Santa Barbara, California.
Career and Discoveries
Katherine Esau was a pioneer in plant anatomy. This means she was one of the first and most important researchers in this field. Her books, Plant Anatomy (published in 1953) and Anatomy of Seed Plants (published in 1960), were very important textbooks for studying plant structure for many years.
Her early research focused on how viruses affected plants. She studied how viruses changed plant tissues and how plants grew. Her PhD research looked at the curly top virus disease in sugar beets. She found it was hard to control the disease in fields, so she started studying it in the lab. This led her to focus on plant anatomy, especially the phloem tissue.
The phloem is a special tissue in plants that carries food (sugars) from the leaves to other parts of the plant. Esau soon discovered that the curly top virus spread through plants by traveling along the phloem. In 1960, she started using electron microscopes in her research. These powerful microscopes helped her see tiny details of plant cells.
Esau became a full professor of botany at the University of California, Davis. While teaching, she continued her research on viruses and the phloem. In the 1950s, she worked with another botanist, Vernon Cheadle, on more phloem research. Her book The Phloem (1969) became a very important source of information about this plant tissue.
Ray Evert, one of Esau's students, said that her book Plant Anatomy made the subject exciting. He said it had a huge impact around the world and helped bring new life to the study of plant anatomy. Even with all this recognition, Esau remained humble. She once said, "I don't know how I happened to be elected [for the National Medal of Science]. I have no idea what impressed them about me." She was an excellent teacher and inspired many students.
In 1965, after retiring from the University of California, Davis, she moved to the University of California, Santa Barbara. She continued her research there well into her 90s. She published a total of 162 articles and five books during her career.
When asked about being a woman in science, Esau said in 1973 that her scientific work was the most important part of her career. She felt she could be independent while still working within the rules. She added, "I have never felt that my career was being affected by the fact that I am a woman." In 1992, she was asked if she saw herself as a pioneer woman in science. She replied, "I never worried about being a woman. It never occurred to me that that was an important thing. I always thought that women could do just as well as men."
Recognition and Awards
Katherine Esau received many honors for her important work:
- In 1949, she was chosen as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- In 1951, she became the President of the Botanical Society of America.
- In 1956, the Botanical Society of America gave her a Certificate of Merit.
- In 1957, she was the sixth woman ever elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences. This is a very high honor for scientists in the United States.
- In 1962, she received an honorary degree from Mills College.
- In 1989, President George Bush awarded Esau the National Medal of Science. This is one of the highest awards a scientist can receive in the U.S.
Legacy
Katherine Esau's work continues to inspire scientists today.
- Many of her writings are kept at the Cornelius Herman Muller library at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
- The Katherine Esau Award is given each year to a graduate student. This award recognizes the best paper in structural and developmental biology presented at the annual meeting of the Botanical Society of America.
- In 1993, Esau started the Katherine Esau Fellowship Program at the University of California, Davis. This program helps support new researchers and graduate students.
Books by Katherine Esau
Her books helped modernize how plant anatomy was taught and were used for many decades:
- Esau, Katherine (1953). Plant Anatomy. (This book had several editions, including 1954, 1965, and 2006).
- Esau, Katherine (1960). Anatomy of Seed Plants. (A second edition was published in 1977).
- Esau, Katherine (1961). Plants, Viruses, and Insects.
- Esau, Katherine (1965). Vascular Differentiation in Plants.
- Esau, Katherine (1968). Viruses in Plant Hosts.
- Esau, Katherine (1969). The Phloem.
See also
In Spanish: Katherine Esau para niños
