Lewis John Stadler(July 6, 1896 – May 12, 1954) was an American geneticist. His research focused on the mutagenic effects of different forms of radiation on economically important plants likemaizeandbarley.
Dr. Lewis Stadler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | July 6, 1896 |
| Died | May 12, 1954(aged 57) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Missouri University of Florida |
| Known for | Research pertaining to the mutable effects of radiation on crops |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Genetics |
| Institutions | University of Missouri U.S. Department of Agriculture |
| Doctoral students | Raymond E. Zirkle Herschel L. Roman |
Biography
editLewis John Stadler was born inSt. Louis, Missouri,in 1896 to Henry Louis and Josephine Ehrman Stadler.[1]Stadler's early education efforts were unremarkable, but two summers worked on Midwestern farms sparked an interest in agriculture. He began his undergraduate work at theUniversity of Missouriand completed a B.S. in agriculture at theUniversity of Florida(1917). Afterwards, he returned to the University of Missouri and earned the A.M. (1918). Post-A.M., he enrolled in the Field Artillery of theUnited States Army,although his commission as Second Lieutenant was not used in overseas duty due to the end ofWorld War I.Stadler spent 1919 in graduate studies atCornell Universityunder Harry Houser Love andRollins A. Emerson.[1]He returned again to the University of Missouri and completed his PhD in 1922. Following graduation, he joined the University of Missouri Department of Field Crops faculty. Stadler remained at Missouri until 1954 and acted as a visiting professor at theCalifornia Institute of Technology(1940), andYale University(1950). He simultaneously held an appointment with theU.S. Department of Agriculturebeginning in 1930. He was elected to the United StatesNational Academy of Sciencesin 1938.[2]He was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Societyin 1941 and theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciencesin 1949.[3][4]Stadler completed presidential terms for several academic organizations, includingGenetics Society of America,American Society of Naturalists,andSigma Xi.[5]
While Stadler spent almost his entire academic life at theUniversity of Missourihe was also involved in external activities. During the 1930s Stadler participated in efforts to bring European scientists to the U.S. to escape Nazism. In 1948 Stadler was appointed a delegate to the Eighth International Congress of Genetics, which met in Stockholm. However, theU.S. Department of Agriculturerejected his passport application and conducted a loyalty investigation; Stadler initially thought it was a State Department action.
Stadler married Cornelia Field Tuckerman in 1919. They had six children: Maury, Henry, David, John, Eliot, and Joan.
Although Stadler's initial research was on field plot technique andagronomy,[1]his main research interest becamegenetics,concentrated upon the study ofmutationincorn.In 1925, he won a National Research Council Fellowship in Biology for a study in variation in linkage values in maize.[1]He did much work on the effects ofX-raytreatments, and did comparative studies of mutation caused by X-rays and byultraviolet rays.[6]His work earned him an international reputation.
He died ofleukemiain 1954.
In his honor, theUniversity of Missouriholds the Stadler Genetics Symposium every two years.[7]
References
edit- ^abcdRhoades, M.M."Lewis John Stadler, 1896-1954"(PDF).National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir.National Academy of Sciences.Retrieved25 June2013.
- ^"Lewis J. Stadler".www.nasonline.org.Retrieved2023-04-24.
- ^"APS Member History".search.amphilsoc.org.Retrieved2023-04-24.
- ^"Lewis John Stadler".American Academy of Arts & Sciences.10 February 2023.Retrieved2023-04-24.
- ^Stadler, Lewis John (1896-1954), Papers, 1927-1955, C2429at theState Historical Society of Missouri
- ^Stadler, L. J.;G. F. Sprague (1936-10-15)."Genetic Effects of Ultra-Violet Radiation in Maize. I. Unfiltered Radiation"(PDF).Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.22(10). US Department of Agriculture and Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station: 572–578.Bibcode:1936PNAS...22..572S.doi:10.1073/pnas.22.10.572.PMC1076819.PMID16588111.Retrieved2007-10-11.
- ^Stadler Genetics SymposiumArchived2006-11-13 at theWayback Machine- University of Missouri
- Smocovitis, Vassiliki Betty. 2000. Stadler, Lewis John.American National Biography Online