Elizabeth Lee "Betty" Klepper (1936 – 2018) was an American agronomic scientist from Memphis, Tennessee.[1][2]

Betty Klepper
Born(1936-03-08)8 March 1936
Died26 October 2018(2018-10-26) (aged 82)
Resting placePendleton Pioneer Chapel
Alma mater
Known forEditor of Crop Science. First women Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America and first women President of the Crop Science Society of America.
Scientific career
Institutions

Life edit

In 1954 Klepper began her university education at Vanderbilt University.[3] Throughout her undergraduate years, she drifted from maths to chemistry and physics, and finally to biology in her junior year.[4] Following this, she went to the United Kingdom on a Marshall Scholarship, where she studied botany and associated subjects at University of Exeter.[5][6] She returned to a teaching position at Hutchinson School in Memphis.[3][5] She soon went to Duke University to continue with her post-graduate and doctoral education, and followed this up with post-doctoral research in Australia after which she returned to the United States.[3] While teaching agronomy at Auburn University,[2] she was hired by the United States Department of Agriculture Rhizotron Laboratory.[3] She continued her research work alongside Dr. Howard Taylor of the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service group until 1976,[7] at which time she relocated to the Columbia Plateau Conservation Research Center in Pendleton, Oregon, where she focused her efforts on the use of innovative interdisciplinary research to improve the production and growth of wheat.[8][9] In 1985, Klepper was the first woman to be elected a fellow of the Soil Science Society of America, and in 1985 she also elected a member of the American Society of Agronomy. She remained a member of the American Society of AgronomyCrop Science Society of AmericaSoil Science Society of America throughout the remainder of her career.[3][10] Following retirement, environmental education and stewardship kept her busy.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ "Elizabeth Lee Klepper Obituary (1936 - 2018)". Legacy.com. The Commercial Appeal. 21 November 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-11-26. Retrieved 2021-11-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. ^ a b Ernst, Susan (2 April 2020) [16 March 2020]. "Looking back on the life of Betty Klepper". Agronomic Science Foundation (ASF). Archived from the original on 2021-11-26. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  3. ^ a b c d e f McIntosh, Marla S.; Simmons, Steve R. (2008). "A Century of Women in Agronomy: Lessons from Diverse Life Stories" (PDF). Agronomy Journal. 100. Previously Published in Prophetic Voices from Our Past, CD, 2007. Celebrate the Centennial (A Supplement to Agronomy Journal). American Society of Agronomy: S-59 to S-69. doi:10.2134/agronj2007.0081s – via agsci.oregonstate.edu.
  4. ^ "Looking back on the life of Betty Klepper". Agronomic Science Foundation. Retrieved 2022-08-14.
  5. ^ a b "Elizabeth Lee "Betty" Klepper, BA'58, First in Soil Science". Vanderbilt University. 19 February 2019. Archived from the original on 2020-11-27. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  6. ^ "Looking back on the life of Betty Klepper | ASF - Agronomic Science Foundation". www.a-s-f.org. Retrieved 2022-08-14.
  7. ^ Fisk, Susan (2015). "Rooted in Field Research: A Day in the Life of Betty Klepper". Soil Horizons. 56 (1): 0. doi:10.2136/sh2015-56-1-dl. ISSN 2163-2812.
  8. ^ Klepper, Betty. "Tillering Patterns and Wheat Plant Stresses" (PDF). USDA Agricultural Research Center (ARC).
  9. ^ Huck, M. G.; Klepper, Betty; Taylor, H. M. (1970-04-01). "Diurnal Variations in Root Diameter". Plant Physiology. 45 (4): 529–530. doi:10.1104/pp.45.4.529. ISSN 0032-0889. PMC 396450. PMID 16657334.
  10. ^ "Elizabeth Lee "Betty" Klepper, BA'58, First in Soil Science". Vanderbilt University. February 19, 2019. Retrieved 2022-08-14.