Allene Jeanes

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Allene Jeanes
Black and white image of a woman with white hair wearing a black coat and white scarf tied in a bow.
Jeanes, via the United States Department of Agriculture
Born
Allene Rosalind Jeanes

(1906-07-19)July 19, 1906
Waco, Texas, U.S.
DiedDecember 11, 1995(1995-12-11) (aged 89)
Urbana, Illinois, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
OccupationChemist
Known forDeveloping Dextran

Allene Rosalind Jeanes (July 19, 1906 – December 11, 1995) was an American chemical researcher, whose studies focused mainly on carbohydrates and the development of Dextran, a substance that replaced blood plasma in the Korean War. A member of the American Chemical Society, Jeanes published over 60 works, compiled 24 presentations, and received ten patents.[1]

Early life and education[]

Jeanes was born July 19, 1906, in Waco, Texas to Viola (Herring) and Largus Elonzo Jeanes, a switchman and later a yardmaster for the Cotton Belt Route of the St. Louis Southwestern Railroad. In 1928, she received a bachelor's degree from Baylor University; in 1929, Jeanes obtained a master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley.[1][2]

From 1930 to 1935, Jeanes was employed as the head science teacher at Athens College in Athens, Alabama. From 1936 to 1937, she held a position as chemistry instructor at the University of Illinois.[1] She received her PhD in organic chemistry from University of Illinois in 1938,[3] after working with Roger Adams.[4]

Career[]

From 1938 to 1940, Jeanes served as a corn industries research foundation fellow for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with Claude Hudson and worked at the National Bureau of Standards with .[5]:105​ In 1941 she joined [5]:105​ at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Northern Regional Research Lab (NRRL) in Peoria, Illinois as a chemical researcher. She worked there until 1976.[2] Jeanes is credited with "a prominent role in making NRRL a world-class center for applied carbohydrate science".[5]:105​

Jeanes' area of research was natural polysaccharides, including starch (found in wheat, corn, rice, and potatoes), cellulose (found in cotton, wood, and paper), and dextran. Jeanes was able to isolate dextrose-producing bacteria from samples of bacteria-contaminated root beer supplied by a local Peoria company.[2] This discovery was the basis for development of a mass production process for dextran, and its use in a dextran-based blood plasma extender. This plasma substitute was used by medical personal in the Korean and Vietnam wars. As a result of her work, Jeanes was the first woman to receive the Distinguished Service Award given by the Department of Agriculture, in 1953.[6] She was also awarded the Garvan Medal in 1956.[3]

Jeanes was also part of the team that developed xanthan gum. Another polysaccharide, synthesized by the bacteria Xanthomonas campestris,[1] xanthan gum acts as a thickener and keeps foods such as oil and vinegar salad dressings from separating.[2]

She was a member of the American Chemical Society, Sigma Xi, and Iota Sigma Pi.[7]

Later life[]

Jeanes died on 11 December 1995 in Urbana, Illinois.[citation needed]

Awards[]

  • 1953 – Distinguished Service Award from the USDA.[1][6]
  • 1956 – Garvan Medal from the American Chemical Society.[1][6]
  • 1962 – Federal Woman’s Award from the U.S. Civil Service Commission.[6]
  • 1968 – to the Xanthan gum team, from the United States Department of Agriculture[5][8]
  • 1999 – posthumously inducted into the ARS Science Hall of Fame for her works in microbiological research that created life-saving polymers made from agricultural products.[9]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Allene R. Jeanes Papers, MS 335, Archives of Women in Science and Engineering, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library". Special Collections and University Archives. Iowa State University. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
  2. ^ a b c d "Allene Rosalind Jeanes". Chemical Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on July 12, 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  3. ^ a b Ogilvie, Marilyn; Harvey, Joy (2000). The biographical dictionary of women in science. New York: Routledge. p. 654. ISBN 0-415-92038-8.
  4. ^ Rothenberg, Marc (2000). "Adams, Roger (1889-1971)". The history of science in the United States : an encyclopedia (Online ed.). New York: Garland. p. 8. ISBN 0-8153-0762-4. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d Gregory L. Côté, Victoria L. Finkenstadt: A History of Carbohydrate Research at the USDA Laboratory in Peoria, Illinois. In: Bulletin for the History of Chemistry. Vol. 33, Nr. 2, 2008, S. 103–111.
  6. ^ a b c d "Allene Rosalind Jeanes". Human Touch of Chemistry. Archived from the original on 2014-05-14. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  7. ^ "Women Who Made a Difference". Iowa State University. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  8. ^ Tiffany K. Wayne: American Women of Science Since 1900 (Vol.1: Essays A-H). ABC-Clio, 2011, S. 549 f.
  9. ^ "National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2008-07-06.

Further reading[]

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