Roger Stanier facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Roger Yate Stanier
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| Born | October 22, 1916 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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| Died | January 29, 1982 (aged 65) |
| Alma mater | Victoria College University of British Columbia University of California, Los Angeles Stanford University |
| Known for | Cyanobacteria |
| Awards | Eli Lilly and Company-Elanco Research Award (1950) Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology (1980) Leeuwenhoek Medal (1981) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Microbiology |
| Institutions | University of California, Berkeley Institut Pasteur |
| Doctoral advisor | C. B. van Niel |
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Roger Yate Stanier (born October 22, 1916 – died January 29, 1982) was a Canadian scientist. He was a very important microbiologist, which means he studied tiny living things called microbes. He helped shape how we understand modern microbiology today.
He was part of a famous group of scientists called the Delft School. He also learned from a great teacher named C. B. van Niel. Roger Stanier helped organize and name different types of bacteria. For example, he helped classify what were once called "blue-green algae" as cyanobacteria, which are a type of bacteria.
In 1957, he and other scientists wrote a very important textbook called The Microbial World. This book was used by many students for over 30 years. He worked at the University of California, Berkeley for 24 years. There, he became a professor and led the Department of Bacteriology. Later, he moved to the Institut Pasteur in Paris, France. He received many awards for his work, including the Leeuwenhoek Medal. He was also a member of important science groups like the Royal Society.
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Roger Stanier's Early Life
Roger Yate Stanier was born on October 22, 1916, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. His parents had moved there from Britain. His father was a doctor who specialized in X-rays. His mother was a teacher who studied English literature.
Roger went to private boarding schools when he was young. He started at St. Christopher's School at age 7. Later, he went to Shawnigan Lake School. He described his time there as difficult. After he got sick with pneumonia, his father took him out of Shawnigan. He then went to Oak Bay High School and finished school in 1931 when he was 15.
After high school, he went to Victoria College. He studied biology, literature, and history. He then moved to the University of British Columbia (UBC). He wanted to study literature and history, but his parents wanted him to study science. So, he decided to study bacteriology. He graduated with high honors in bacteriology in 1936.
In 1936, he wanted to learn more about chemistry. He tried to study at the University of Munich in Germany. However, the rise of Nazism made the university a difficult place to be. So, he left and decided to go to graduate school in the United States.
His Graduate Studies (1937–1947)
Roger Stanier chose to study at the University of California, Berkeley. He had a friend there named Mike Lerner. At first, he wasn't very interested in the research being done there. So, he took a job helping teach at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1938. This was his first paid job.
While at UCLA, he took a famous summer course. It was taught by C. B. van Niel at the Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove, California. This experience changed his mind. He decided he wanted to focus on general microbiology. After getting his master's degree from UCLA in 1939, he went back to Pacific Grove to study with van Niel.
After he finished his studies, he worked with another famous scientist, Marjory Stephenson. He joined her at the University of Cambridge in 1945. He was there as a special research fellow.
Working at Berkeley (1947–1971)
When Roger Stanier returned to the United States, he worked for a short time at the University of Indiana. One of his students there described him as a wonderful teacher. This student said that Roger Stanier helped him see that biochemistry was not just about chemistry, but also about biology. He learned how living things work together with their environment.
In 1947, Roger Stanier was invited to join the Department of Bacteriology at the University of California, Berkeley. He stayed there for most of his career. He became a very important professor and researcher.
Moving to Institut Pasteur
In 1971, Roger Stanier left Berkeley and moved to Paris. He started working at the Institut Pasteur, a famous research center. He stayed there for the last ten years of his life. He explained that he left Berkeley for a few reasons. There were some problems on campus and changes in university leadership.
He and his wife, Germaine, accepted an invitation to work in a lab space that used to belong to other famous scientists. He was allowed to focus only on studying cyanobacteria. In 1978, he was chosen to be a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a great honor for scientists.
His Scientific Discoveries
Roger Stanier's research covered many different areas. He wanted to understand how bacteria work and how they fit into the bigger picture of biology. He and C. B. van Niel were seen as key thinkers in understanding how different microbes are related to each other. He also helped with a very important book called Bergey's Manual, which helps classify bacteria. He even invented a special method to study how living things process chemicals.
Stanier's work on Cyanobacteria was very important. He studied how they get food, their fat makeup, and how they change color. He also looked at how they take nitrogen from the air and how they are classified. He strongly suggested that cyanobacteria, which he called blue-green algae, should be considered a type of bacteria. This idea helped change how scientists understood these tiny organisms.
He also wrote the influential textbook, The Microbial World. This book helped spread the ideas of "prokaryote" and "eukaryote." These terms describe the two main types of cells. Prokaryotes are simple cells like bacteria, and eukaryotes are more complex cells like those in plants and animals.
