Herr, Gertrude A.

Lindstrom, E. W.

Peterson, Ben H.

Seashore, Carl E.

Smith, Helen F.

University of Northern Iowa

Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science Volume 49 Annual Issue Article 6 1942 In Memoriam: John Alexander McGeoch; Edgar W. Timm; Oliver W. Muelder; Maria M. Roberts Carl E. Seashore State University of Iowa E. W. Lindstrom Iowa State College Ben H. Peterson Coe College Gertrude A. Herr Helen F. Smith Let us know how access to this document benefits you Copyright ©1942 Iowa Academy of Science, Inc. Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias Recommended Citation Seashore, Carl E.; Lindstrom, E. W.; Peterson, Ben H.; Herr, Gertrude A.; and Smith, Helen F. (1942) "In Memoriam: John Alexander McGeoch; Edgar W. Timm; Oliver W. Muelder; Maria M. Roberts," Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science, 49(1), 35-41. Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias/vol49/iss1/6 This General Interest Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa Academy of Science at UNI ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science by an authorized editor of UNI ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact scholarworks@uni.edu. 3Jn alrmortum J o 1-rN A LE XA N DE R McGEOCH 1897- 1942 Professor McGeoch came to Iowa as professor and head of the D epart-ment of Psychology in the fall of 1939. H e came to an untimely death on Mar ch 3, 1942, as a result of a cerebal hemorrhage. H e came to us recognized as one of the outstanding psychologists of the p resent gener-ation and during his brief stay here gained r ecognition for his schola rly activities, his wise administration, and his winsome personality in all his associations on the campus. He was born in New York but was educat ed in the middle west . Be-fore coming to Iowa he had held r esponsible positions in W ashingt on University, the Univer sit y of Missouri, and Wesleyan U niversity, where he held a research professorship. His p rincipal field of investigation centered around the analysis of the learning process and j ust befor e his death he had finished his magnum opus "The Psychology of Human L earning," which is being published by Longmans, Green. Iowa mourns the loss of this distinguished scholar . C A RL E. SEASHORE State Unive rsit y of Iowa 1Seashore et al.: In Memoriam: John Alexander McGeoch; Edgar W. Timm; Oliver W. MuePublished by UNI ScholarWorks, 194236 IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE EooA1t ·w. TrntM 1916- 1942 [Vor .. 4!l EDGAR W. TIMM, Research Assistant in Genetics at the Iowa Stale College, a brilliant young scientist, died very suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage on March 26, 1942 at the age of twenty-six. Born in Mus-catine, Iowa, where he is survived by his father and two brothers. Timm had his secondary education at the Muscatine High School (1928-1932). He entered Iowa Sta te College in 1932 and graduated with honors in 1936 with the B. S. degree in chemical technology. As a result of his exceptional academic career and his fine person-ality, he was the unanimous choice for the Rhodes Scholarship, the first from Iowa State College. He spent two years at Oxford Univers-ity, Trinity College, receiving a B.Sc. degree there in 1938. From this study, he published two papers in reaction kinetics, one with the noted head of his department, Dr. C. N. Hinshelwood. As a reward for this accomplishment, he was granted a third year a t Oxford which was de-voted largely to work in biology and genetics. He spent six weeks at the famous John Innes lnstitution for Genetics at Merton; and traveled widely during vacation periods. A third publication on hybridity and polyploidy of an Oxford rush, Juncus, resulted from this final year of work in England. By this time, Timm had decided on a career in Genetics and was offered a graduate assistantship in the Genetics De-partment of Iowa State College. In the fall of 1939, before returning home, he was a delegate at the International Congress of Genetics at Edinburgh, Scotland. From 1939-1941 Timm served as graduate assistant in the Genetics Department of IO\va State College, maintaining the same 'straight A' 2Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science, Vol. 49 [1942], No. 1, Art. 6https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias/vol49/iss1/6l!H~] IN MEMOHIAM 37 record of his former years. He was an unusually keen observer and thinker, with a marked flair for mathematical applications. His re-searches dealt with bacterial genetics, particularly the mutation aspect of virulence in the bacterial wilt pathogen of maize. Tirnm possessed rare ability in planning experiments. His colleagues and graduate students of the department leaned on him for direction and his profound in~ fluence on their ideas will remain as a heritage for long. In 1940, Timm married Helen \Valdron of Des Moines, a graduate of I mm State College in the class of 19·to. She prm·ed to be a devoted collaborator in Timrn's research. At this time, when Timm's Ph.D. research was practically complete, he was appointed as full time Re-search Assistant on a Rockefeller Foundation project, continuing with the bacterial genetics \1·ork on a larger scale. He was blazing new paths in critical studies of bacterial variation and mutation "·hen, without warning he was stricken at the encl of a clay's work. Publirations. I. Hinshehrnocl, C. N., K .. I. Laidler, and E. W. Timm. The activation energy of organic reaetions. Part I. Electronic theories of organic chemistry from the standpoint of chemical kinetics. ,l ournal of the Chemical Society, 1938 :848-858. 2. Timm, E. \V. and C. N. Hinshelwood. The activation energy of organic reactions. Part III. The kinetics of acid hydrolysis of esters. Journal of the Chemical Society, 1938:862-869. 3. Timm, E. \\'. and Clapham, A. R. .Jointed rushes of the Oxford district. New Phytol. 139:1-16. 1940. 4. Timm, E. "" Theoretical Genetics. Iowa Academy Sci. Proc. 48:51-58. 1941. F "'. LINDS~'ROM Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa 3Seashore et al.: In Memoriam: John Alexander McGeoch; Edgar W. Timm; Oliver W. MueP blished by UNI ScholarWorks, 194238 IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE ( VOL. 49 OLIVER W. MUELDEH 1912-1941 Oliver W . Muelder passed away on April 11, 1941 after a long illness. He was born in Peoria, Illinois, on June 9, 1912. He attended the Public Schools in San Jose, Illinois, Burlington, Iowa, and Minonk, Illinois. After graduation from the Kenosha, Wisconsin, High School, he attended Berea College, Berea, Kentucky, receiving an A. B. degree in 1935. Continuing his studies he was awarded the Master of Science degree by the University of Wisconsin where he did his graduate work in Chemistry. He was appointed instructor in Chemistry at Coe College, a position he held until f~iling health forced him to relinquish his duties and return to his home in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His stay in Iowa was quite brief but in that time, he made his presence a valuable contribution to his associates and to the students with whom he came in contact. BEN H. PETEHSON Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Ia. 4Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science, Vol. 49 [1942], No. 1, Art. 6https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias/vol49/iss1/61942] IN MEMORIAM MARIA M. RonER'l'S 1867-1942 39 On April 12, 1942 at Ames, Iowa, occurred the death of Maria M. Roberts, long time member of the Iowa Academy of Science and for 51 years closely associated with the teaching and progress of Mathematics in this state. The essential facts of her life history were recorded by Dean Roberts herself at the request of her friends at the time of her fiftieth class re-union. Concerning her birth place she wrote: "I always give the date and place of my birth as June 29, 1867, Dunlap, Iowa, but as a matter of fact the Northwestern Railway completed construction across Iowa that summer, and the town of Dunlap and I were born about the same time in the northeast corner of Harrison County". Her father came to Iowa in 1857 from Connecticut, traveling by cover-ed wagon from Iowa City, which was the western end of the Rock Island railroad. Iowa land was then selling at $1.25 an acre. In due time Mr. Roberts owned an Iowa farm and was one of the pioneers in accepting improved farming methods. Her mother, Ellen Rogers, came from Michigan to Clinton County as a young girl, moving to Harrison County when she was sixteen. She taught school there during the war and was married to Mr. Roberts in 1866 a fter his return from four years of service in the Civil War. Maria was the eldest child of this union. She wrote of her home with deep appreciation, saying, "I have always felt that I was most fortunate in being surrounded with a delightful J10me life. Both my father and 5Seashore et al.: In Memoriam: John Alexander McGeoch; Edgar W. Timm; Oliver W. MuePublished by UNI ScholarWorks, 194240 lOW A ACADEMY OF SCIENCE [YoL. 49 mother were great readers; by reading, and particularly by thinking, they became truly cultured people." Maria attended country school then went to the Dunlap high school, being graduated when she was 17. Upon the advice of a neighbor :V1r. Hoberts decided to giYe his <laughter a year of college at Ames. To proYide the necessary $180.00 for expenses was a big problem but what a high diYidend that im·estment has paid in senice to the State of Iowa. One year of <"ollege was follo\\·ed by three others financed h~· rural school teaching in the "long Yaeations". Upon graduation in 1890 :Vlaria Roberts was elected to tead1 in the then new high school in North Des :Vfoines. In the meantime she consented to fill a sudden Yacancy in the fourth grade in Des :Vfoines, but before she had ha<I two weeks of ex-perience in that "·ork she was offered a position at Imm State Collegt» This offer came to her from Professor Stanton by \\'a~· of the pri rnte telephone "·ire \d1ich then connected the college with Des :\Ioines. lle-cause :Vlaria had ne\'er used a telephone this conYersation wirh Professor Stanton was hy proxy. As a result of this three ""'~- con\'ersation Jlis' Hoberts was assured an instructorship in Mathematics at Iowa State: College beginning February 18!Jl at a salary of $400.00 to he increased by $75.00 if she acted as assistant to the preceptress. Her follml'ing promotion to as:;istant professor, to associate professor, to full prufessor of Mathematics (1913), to acting Head of the Mathematics department, then to Head, then to Dean of the .Junior College~ gaye official recog-nition to the success of a remarkable \l'Oll11tn, -- a trul~· great teacher and t'xecuti\'e. It was a matter of regret to Miss Hoherts that she \\'as unable to take the time and money for a doctorate. She did graduate work se\'eral summers at Cornell Unh·ersity and the University of Chicago and kept contact with the progress of science by fretp1ent a tendance at scientific meetings. She and her colleague, Miss Julia Colpitts, wrote a ,·ery faHlrably receh·ed textbook in Analytic Geometry. She was a member of the Mathematics .\ssociation of America, the American Mathematical Society, Imm Academ~· of Science, American Association of University "'omen, Sigma Delta Epsilon, Pi Mu Epsilon, Phi Kappa Phi, Mortar Board, P. E. 0. an<l Pi Beta Phi. \Vhen she retired from t'xecuth·e work as Dean of ,Junior College, ;\Iiss Hoberts took charge of the loan funds of Iowa State College, a position in which she continued to render \'ital service to the youth of the college. After the death of Miss Colpitts she started with a generous gift the .Julia Colpitts loan fund. At the time of her fiftieth class reunion the college conferred upon Dean lloberts the honorary Doctor of Law degree. At the same commencement her portrait was presented to the college by her many friends. One of the dormitories for women on the campus was named Roberts Hall in her honor. She was given the Chicago Alumni Servke award as one of those whose contribution to the college had merited outstanding recognition. There is a Maria Hoherts loan fund to which 6Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science, Vol. 49 [1942], No. 1, Art. 6https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias/vol49/iss1/619.t.2] IN MEMORIAM 41 she gin·e generously, and to which her many friends are making con-tributions in her memory. In her student days Miss Roberts sened as the first president of the college Y. W. C. A. Her active interest in the work of the organization continued throughout her life. She served many years on its advisory board and gave generously of her time and money to its support. She \\·as an active member of the Congregational Church of Ames. As a capable, fair, far-seeing executive she made a lasting contribution to education in this state. As a great teacher she inspired thousands of young men and women with a deep respect for thoroughness and truth, she stimulated them to undertake the high adventures of hard work and straight thinking, she motintted them to live on a high plane of eternal rnlues, she gave to each the precious gift of a wise, loyal, helpful, ne,·er-to-be·forgotten friend. She was known personally to many members of the Iowa Academy. To these her death is a sad loss. In the policies of a great college, in the respect and affection of her colleagues and students her influence carries on. Maria M. Roberts has a place among the outstanding educators of her day. G1mTuunE A. HEuu 1-b;u:" F. SMITH 7Seashore et al.: In Memoriam: John Alexander McGeoch; Edgar W. Timm; Oliver W. MuePublished by UNI ScholarWorks, 1942

In Memoriam: John Alexander McGeoch; Edgar W. Timm; Oliver W. Muelder; Maria M. Roberts

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In Memoriam: John Alexander McGeoch; Edgar W. Timm; Oliver W. Muelder; Maria M. Roberts

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