Eric Underwood
Encyclopedia
Eric John Underwood AO
, CBE
(7 September 1905 - 19 August 1980) was an Australian scientist
who pioneered research into sheep nutrition
and wool
production.
, Middlesex
, England
on 7 September 1905, the youngest of three children to James and Elizabeth Underwood. When Elizabeth died in 1907, Underwood and his siblings were placed in the care of family while James migrated to Western Australia
and established himself at Mount Barker
. After a long period of correspondence James convinced a friend Kate Taysom to accompany the children to Fremantle
in 1913. James and Kate were married the day after their arrival.
On 23 June 1934 Eric Underwood married school teacher Erica Chandler at St Andrews Church, Perth
, and they had two daughters and two sons. Underwood died in Royal Perth Hospital
on 19 August 1980.
in Western Australia's Mid West region. Underwood boarded in Perth for schooling, going to North Perth State and Perth Modern School
, and returning to the Coorow property during school holidays. In 1924 Underwood commenced a cadetship with the Department of Agriculture and studied Agriculture at The University of Western Australia, gaining his bachelor of science in 1928, which he graduated with honours. His thesis, A botanical and chemical study of Western Australian pastures, was published in 1929. Underwood the took up the Hackett research studentship to study at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
obtaining his Doctorate
of Science in 1931 and returning to Western Australia.
In June 1936 Underwood undertook a two year fellowship
funded by the Commonwealth at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
. When he returned to Western Australia, he was invited to work with The University of Western Australia
's Institute of Agriculture.
deficiency. At the same time Hedley Marston
was researching the disease in South Australia
, and in January 1935, Marston published his findings concluding that the cause was a deficiency in the trace element cobalt
, Underwood published his findings in March 1935 with similar conclusions. Years later the findings were confirmed with cobalt-containing Vitamin B12
shown as the key to the disease and the factor in haematopoiesis
. Nowadays sheep receive B12 supplements in the poor-pasture areas of the south coastal strip to manage cobalt and selenium deficiencies.
Underwood's next research project was the beginning of a 30-year association with Avondale Agricultural Research Station
, this study was into the effect of sulfur
on wool growth. This was followed investigations with botulism
in sheep, results of which were published in the Journal of Agriculture. During the 1940s he studied the nutritional value
of hay and pasture for sheep, the ongoing results from these Studies in Cereal Hay production in Western Australia were published in the Journal of Agriculture.
of faculty and director of The University of Western Australia's Institute of Agriculture. Under Underwood, the Institute's teaching and research activities outstripped available resources, and he obtained support from CSIRO's Wool research fund. Underwood also presented a paper New Deal for Agriculture which secured additional funding from the University administration. This funding enabled additional staffing, and an increase in postgraduate studies. As a lecturer, Underwood's logical presentation made the most complex information easy to understand.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
, CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(7 September 1905 - 19 August 1980) was an Australian scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
who pioneered research into sheep nutrition
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
and wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
production.
Personal life
Underwood was born in HarlingtonHarlington, London
Harlington is a suburban area in the London Borough of Hillingdon, on the northern perimeter of London Heathrow Airport. It is situated west of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 7 September 1905, the youngest of three children to James and Elizabeth Underwood. When Elizabeth died in 1907, Underwood and his siblings were placed in the care of family while James migrated to Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
and established himself at Mount Barker
Mount Barker, Western Australia
Mount Barker is a town on the Albany Highway and is the administrative centre of the Shire of Plantagenet in the Great Southern region of Western Australia...
. After a long period of correspondence James convinced a friend Kate Taysom to accompany the children to Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
in 1913. James and Kate were married the day after their arrival.
On 23 June 1934 Eric Underwood married school teacher Erica Chandler at St Andrews Church, Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, and they had two daughters and two sons. Underwood died in Royal Perth Hospital
Royal Perth Hospital
Royal Perth Hospital is an 855-bed teaching hospital located on the northeastern edge of the CBD of Perth, Western Australia . Royal Perth Hospital also has specialised rehabilitation facilities at Shenton Park.-History:...
on 19 August 1980.
Education
The family stayed in Mount Barker until 1920 when James took up a 1850 acres (7.5 km²) property near CoorowCoorow, Western Australia
Coorow is a town in the Mid West region of Western Australia, north of Perth.The townsite of Coorow was gazetted in 1893, and the name is derived from the Aboriginal name of a nearby spring, first recorded in 1872...
in Western Australia's Mid West region. Underwood boarded in Perth for schooling, going to North Perth State and Perth Modern School
Perth Modern School
Perth Modern School is an academically-selective co-educational public high school located in Subiaco, an inner city suburb of Perth, Western Australia.The school, established in 1911, now caters for students with high academic ability....
, and returning to the Coorow property during school holidays. In 1924 Underwood commenced a cadetship with the Department of Agriculture and studied Agriculture at The University of Western Australia, gaining his bachelor of science in 1928, which he graduated with honours. His thesis, A botanical and chemical study of Western Australian pastures, was published in 1929. Underwood the took up the Hackett research studentship to study at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and...
obtaining his Doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
of Science in 1931 and returning to Western Australia.
In June 1936 Underwood undertook a two year fellowship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
funded by the Commonwealth at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. When he returned to Western Australia, he was invited to work with The University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
's Institute of Agriculture.
Research
On his return to Western Australia, Underwood returned to the Department of Agriculture. In 1933 he was appointed Animal Nutrition Officer. One of the first research studies he undertook was on Denmark wasting disease in sheep, as there was speculation that the disease was caused by ironIron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
deficiency. At the same time Hedley Marston
Hedley Marston
Hedley Ralph Marston was an Australian biochemist who worked for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation ....
was researching the disease in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, and in January 1935, Marston published his findings concluding that the cause was a deficiency in the trace element cobalt
Cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
, Underwood published his findings in March 1935 with similar conclusions. Years later the findings were confirmed with cobalt-containing Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12, vitamin B12 or vitamin B-12, also called cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin with a key role in the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system, and for the formation of blood. It is one of the eight B vitamins...
shown as the key to the disease and the factor in haematopoiesis
Haematopoiesis
Haematopoiesis is the formation of blood cellular components. All cellular blood components are derived from haematopoietic stem cells...
. Nowadays sheep receive B12 supplements in the poor-pasture areas of the south coastal strip to manage cobalt and selenium deficiencies.
Underwood's next research project was the beginning of a 30-year association with Avondale Agricultural Research Station
Avondale Agricultural Research Station
Avondale Agriculture Research Station or Avondale Discovery Farm is one of thirteen research farms and stations operated by Western Australia's Department of Agriculture and Food...
, this study was into the effect of sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
on wool growth. This was followed investigations with botulism
Botulism
Botulism also known as botulinus intoxication is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by botulinum toxin which is metabolic waste produced under anaerobic conditions by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, and affecting a wide range of mammals, birds and fish...
in sheep, results of which were published in the Journal of Agriculture. During the 1940s he studied the nutritional value
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
of hay and pasture for sheep, the ongoing results from these Studies in Cereal Hay production in Western Australia were published in the Journal of Agriculture.
Teaching
In 1946 Underwood was appointed DeanDean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of faculty and director of The University of Western Australia's Institute of Agriculture. Under Underwood, the Institute's teaching and research activities outstripped available resources, and he obtained support from CSIRO's Wool research fund. Underwood also presented a paper New Deal for Agriculture which secured additional funding from the University administration. This funding enabled additional staffing, and an increase in postgraduate studies. As a lecturer, Underwood's logical presentation made the most complex information easy to understand.
Other activities
In 1940 Underwood published the review Nutrition Abstracts and Reviews which was later expanded and published as the book Trace Elements in Human and Animal Nutrition. He revised and republished the book in 1962, 1971 and 1977. In 1966, he also published the book The Mineral Nutrition of Livestock. From 1946 to 1959, Underwood was chairman of Tuberculosis Association of Western Australia, and from 1956-1958 he was also federal president of National Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis. Underwood joined the executive of CSIRO in 1966, writing many papers and giving lectures. Retiring from The University of Western Australia in 1970, Underwood continued on the executive of CSIRO until 1975.Recognition
- 1954 Fellow of Australian Academy of ScienceAustralian Academy of ScienceThe Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The Academy is modelled after the Royal Society and operates under a Royal Charter; as such it is...
- 1958 Fellow of Australian Institute of Agricultural Science
- 1962 Underwood Avenue, Shenton Park, Western AustraliaShenton Park, Western AustraliaShenton Park is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Subiaco and 4 km west of the Central business district. Its postcode is 6008...
was named in his honor. - 1963 Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- 1967 awarded the Farrer Medal
- 1967 Honorary Degree Rural Science from University of New EnglandUniversity of New England, AustraliaThe University of New England is an Australian public university with approximately 18,000 higher education students. Its original and main campus is located in the city of Armidale in northern New South Wales....
- 1969 Honorary Degree Science(Agriculture) University of Western Australia
- 1970 Fellow of Australian Society of Animal Production
- 1976 Officer of the Order of Australia
- 1980 Honorary Degree Science from the University of Wisconsin