H. Boyd Woodruff

H. Boyd Woodruff
Born (1917-07-22)July 22, 1917
Spouse(s) Jeanette Irene Whitner Woodruff (1920–2015)[1]
Children Brian and Hugh[2]
Parent(s) Harold E. Woodruff[2]

H. Boyd Woodruff (born July 22, 1917) is an American soil microbiologist, a member of the National Academy of Sciences.[3]

He is known for the discovery of actinomycin, and the development of the industrial production by fermentation of many natural products, including cyanocobalamin, the avermectins, and other important antibiotics.

Biography

He was born in Bridgeton, New Jersey into a farming family,[2] and received a bachelor's degree in soil chemistry from Rutgers University, followed by a Ph.D. from the same university in soil microbiology; his advisor was Selman Waksman. In his doctoral work, he discovered the antibiotic actinomycin.[4]

Career

He spent his career as a researcher at Merck & Co., rising to the position of Executive Director of Biological Sciences, and Executive Administrator of the Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories in Japan. After retirement, he founded the firm Soil Microbiology Associates together with his wife Jeanette.

Honors

Woodruff was elected to the Animal, Nutritional, and Applied Microbial Sciences section of the National Academy of Sciences in 1998,[3] received the Waksman Award from the Theobald Smith Society in 2007,[4] and received the NAS Award for the Industrial Application of Science in 2011.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Jeanette Irene Whitner Woodruff (1920–2015)". Courier News. March 25, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Woodruff, H. Boyd (August 18, 2004). "Woodruff, H. Boyd" (Interview). Interview with Shaun Illingworth and Nicholas Molnar. Watchung, New Jersey. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 "National Academy of Sciences Member page". Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Dr. H. Boyd Woodruff Receives Theobald Smith Society Waksman Award". Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  5. ↑ "NAS Award for the Industrial Application of Sciencw". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved January 11, 2015.

External links

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