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OBITUARIES
Helen
A. Norman
Dr. Helen A. Norman,
a former plant physiologist with the Agricultural Research Service of
the U. S. Department of Agriculture, died at her residence in Beltsville,
Maryland, on September 7, 2006, after a long bout with cancer.
Helen was born in
Liverpool, England, on December 6, 1957. She received her B.Sc. with first
class honors in botany and biochemistry at the University College of Wales,
Aberystwyth, Wales, in 1979. She did her doctoral work with Professors
Michael Black and John Chapman at Queen Elizabeth College, University
of London, and received a PhD in biochemistry and plant physiology in
1982. The title of her dissertation was “Investigations on the Mechanisms
of Control of Sensitivity of Developing Wheat Aleurone Cells to Gibberellin.”
She was a member of both ASPB and the Society for Experimental Biology.
Helen began her work
in the United States in 1983 as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory
of Dr. Guy Thompson, Jr., in the Department of Botany, University of Texas
at Austin, and remained there from 1982 to 1985. Dr. Tom Mabry, who headed
the department at the time, was instrumental in securing her a green card.
Her research with Thompson culminated in the publication of eight scientific
papers. In 1985 she accepted a postdoctoral position in the Weed Science
Laboratory of the Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Beltsville, working with Dr. Judy St. John. During the next several years
she made great strides in developing improved analytical techniques for
separating and quantifying molecular species of fatty acids and plant
lipids.
Helen Norman had a
distinguished scientific career at USDA, with major effort focused on
the role of lipid metabolism in chilling injury. She obtained U.S. citizenship
on October 30, 1992, and was given a career-conditional appointment with
the Agricultural Research Service shortly thereafter. During her career
with USDA, she collaborated with a large number of colleagues at Beltsville
and other institutions. She and her coworkers conducted comprehensive
studies on a wide range of subjects. I had the good fortune of working
with Helen on a number of studies on changes in membrane lipids and fatty
acids in response to UV-B radiation exposure and water stress, and during
temperature preconditioning against SO2 exposure.
In June 1998, Helen
had to relinquish her appointment with USDA and retire on medical disability
because of cancer. Despite repeated bouts of cancer, and follow-up chemotherapy
and radiation treatment, she never lost her enthusiastic spirit or keen
interest in science. During the past four years, she served as associate
director of research for the American Institute for Cancer Research, reviewing
grant proposals and handling a myriad of other assignments. She will be
sorely missed by her family, friends, and
colleagues.
Surviving Helen are
her mother, Marjorie Norman, of Oxfordshire, U.K.; her brother Peter of
Oxfordshire; her brother Stephen of Coventry, U.K.; her sister June Norman
Ellory of Sydney, Australia; and several nieces and nephews. A memorial
service was held at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Beltsville on
September 26, 2006. A subsequent service was held in the United Kingdom
for family members.
Donald T. Krizek
Plant Physiologist
Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory, USDA, ARS, ANRI
Donald.Krizek@ars.usda.gov
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