Bernard E. Proctor
Encyclopedia
Bernard E. Proctor was an American
food scientist
who was involved in early research on food
irradiation
.
, Proctor graduated from Malden High in 1919, then graduated with an S.B. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) in 1923. He would then earn his Ph.D.
at MIT in 1927.
and public health
department at the Institute. Proctor would be appointed to assistant professor of food technology
in 1930, associate professor in 1937, professor in 1944, and department chair in 1952. Proctor would serve as chair until his sudden death in his office on September 24, 1959.
During his career at MIT, Proctor worked on the application of food irradiation with Samuel A. Goldblith and Daniel F. Farkas, both of whom were graduate students under Proctor at MIT. Goldblith would later work with Proctor on the MIT faculty until Proctor's 1959 death. Proctor and his boss at MIT, Samuel Cate Prescott
, would also publish the first book on food science in 1937 entitled Food Technology, published by McGraw-Hill
. Proctor also served as director of Subsistence Research of the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps
in Washington, DC during World War II
.
for meat and poultry
processing, the cannery for canned foods, and baker
ies for bread as examples, the need to have personnel trained for the food industries. Literature such as Upton Sinclair
's The Jungle
in 1906 about slaughterhouse operations would be a factor in the establishment of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) later that year. The United States Department of Agriculture
was also interested in food technology and research was also being done at agricultural colleges in the United States
, including MIT, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
, the University of Wisconsin–Madison
, and the University of California, Berkeley
. By 1935, both Prescott and Proctor decided that it was time to hold an international conference regarding this. A detailed proposal was presented to MIT President Compton in 1936 was presented with $1500 of financial aid from MIT for a meeting to be held from June 30 to July 2, 1937 with Compton asking how many people would be in attendance at this meeting. Prescott replied with "fifty or sixty people." 500 people actually attended the event.
This meeting proved so successful that in early 1938 that a second conference would be held in 1939. Initially led by George J. Hucker
of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station
(part of Cornell University
) in Geneva, New York
, a small group meeting was held on August 5, 1938 on forming an organization with an expanded group meeting in New York City
on January 16, 1939 to further discuss this. The second conference was held at MIT June 29 to July 1, 1939 with Proctor as conference chair. 600 people attended this event. At the final session, the chairman of the session Fred C. Blanck
of the United States Department of Agriculture, proposed that an organization be established as the Institute of Food Technologists. This was approved unanimously. Its first officers were Prescott as President, Roy C. Newton
of Swift & Company
in Chicago, Illinois as Vice President, and Hucker as Secretary-Treasurer. By 1949, IFT had 3,000 members. Proctor was one of the charter members of IFT, serving as president in 1952-3. He would also win the Nicholas Appert Award
in 1956 and would play a major role in the IFT Committee on Education's 1958 Allerton House conference in Monticello, Illinois
that would lead to the first IFT undergraduate education standards in 1966.
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
food scientist
Food science
Food science is a study concerned with all technical aspects of foods, beginning with harvesting or slaughtering, and ending with its cooking and consumption, an ideology commonly referred to as "from field to fork"...
who was involved in early research on food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
irradiation
Irradiation
Irradiation is the process by which an object is exposed to radiation. The exposure can originate from various sources, including natural sources. Most frequently the term refers to ionizing radiation, and to a level of radiation that will serve a specific purpose, rather than radiation exposure to...
.
Early life
A native of Malden, MassachusettsMalden, Massachusetts
Malden is a suburban city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 59,450 at the 2010 census. In 2009 Malden was ranked as the "Best Place to Raise Your Kids" in Massachusetts by Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine.-History:...
, Proctor graduated from Malden High in 1919, then graduated with an S.B. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
(MIT) in 1923. He would then earn his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
at MIT in 1927.
MIT career
After earning his Ph.D. in 1927 from MIT, Proctor went to work as an instructor in the biologyBiology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
department at the Institute. Proctor would be appointed to assistant professor of food technology
Food technology
Food technology, is a branch of food science which deals with the actual production processes to make foods.-Early history of food technology:...
in 1930, associate professor in 1937, professor in 1944, and department chair in 1952. Proctor would serve as chair until his sudden death in his office on September 24, 1959.
During his career at MIT, Proctor worked on the application of food irradiation with Samuel A. Goldblith and Daniel F. Farkas, both of whom were graduate students under Proctor at MIT. Goldblith would later work with Proctor on the MIT faculty until Proctor's 1959 death. Proctor and his boss at MIT, Samuel Cate Prescott
Samuel Cate Prescott
Samuel Cate Prescott was an American food scientist and microbiologist who was involved in the development of food safety, food science, public health, and industrial microbiology.-Early life:...
, would also publish the first book on food science in 1937 entitled Food Technology, published by McGraw-Hill
McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial, education, publishing, broadcasting, and business services...
. Proctor also served as director of Subsistence Research of the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps
U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps
The United States Army Quartermaster Corps is a Sustainment branch of the United States Army. It is also one of three U.S. Army logistics branches, the others being the Transportation Corps and the Ordnance Corps....
in Washington, DC during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Formation of the Institute of Food Technologists
As food technology grew from the individual family farm to the factory level, including the slaughterhouseSlaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...
for meat and poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
processing, the cannery for canned foods, and baker
Baker
A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...
ies for bread as examples, the need to have personnel trained for the food industries. Literature such as Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair
Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. , was an American author who wrote close to one hundred books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the twentieth century, acquiring particular fame for his classic muckraking novel, The Jungle . It exposed conditions in the U.S...
's The Jungle
The Jungle
The Jungle is a 1906 novel written by journalist Upton Sinclair. Sinclair wrote the novel with the intention of portraying the life of the immigrant in the United States, but readers were more concerned with the large portion of the book pertaining to the corruption of the American meatpacking...
in 1906 about slaughterhouse operations would be a factor in the establishment of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) later that year. The United States Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
was also interested in food technology and research was also being done at agricultural colleges in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, including MIT, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
, 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...
, and the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. By 1935, both Prescott and Proctor decided that it was time to hold an international conference regarding this. A detailed proposal was presented to MIT President Compton in 1936 was presented with $1500 of financial aid from MIT for a meeting to be held from June 30 to July 2, 1937 with Compton asking how many people would be in attendance at this meeting. Prescott replied with "fifty or sixty people." 500 people actually attended the event.
This meeting proved so successful that in early 1938 that a second conference would be held in 1939. Initially led by George J. Hucker
George J. Hucker
George J. Hucker was an American microbiologist who was involved in the founding of the Institute of Food Technologists and was involved in dairy microbiology.-Career at Cornell University:...
of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station
New York State Agricultural Experiment Station
The New York State Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva, Ontario County, New York State, is an integral part of the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. It is a mission-oriented experiment station with a strong emphasis on applied research...
(part of Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
) in Geneva, New York
Geneva, New York
Geneva is a city in Ontario and Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 13,617 at the 2000 census. Some claim it is named after the city and canton of Geneva in Switzerland. Others believe the name came from confusion over the letters in the word "Seneca" written in cursive...
, a small group meeting was held on August 5, 1938 on forming an organization with an expanded group meeting in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on January 16, 1939 to further discuss this. The second conference was held at MIT June 29 to July 1, 1939 with Proctor as conference chair. 600 people attended this event. At the final session, the chairman of the session Fred C. Blanck
Fred C. Blanck
Fred C. Blanck was an American food scientist who was involved in the founding of the Institute of Food Technologists which was involved in the publishing of food and nutrition articles and books.- IFT founding :...
of the United States Department of Agriculture, proposed that an organization be established as the Institute of Food Technologists. This was approved unanimously. Its first officers were Prescott as President, Roy C. Newton
Roy C. Newton
Roy C. Newton was an American food scientist who was involved in research and development of antioxidants in food and meat products during the 20th century. He also was a founding member of the Institute of Food Technologists in 1939.-IFT founding:...
of Swift & Company
Swift & Company
Swift & Company is an American food procession company a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS S.A. , a Brazilian company that is the world's largest processor of fresh beef and pork, with more than US$30 billion in annual sales as of 2010. It is also the largest beef processor in Australia.Swift &...
in Chicago, Illinois as Vice President, and Hucker as Secretary-Treasurer. By 1949, IFT had 3,000 members. Proctor was one of the charter members of IFT, serving as president in 1952-3. He would also win the Nicholas Appert Award
Nicholas Appert Award
The Nicholas Appert Award has been awarded every year since 1942 by the Chicago Section of the Institute of Food Technologists. Given for lifetime and consistent achievement in food technology, it is named after Nicolas Appert, the French inventor of airtight food preservation. Award winners...
in 1956 and would play a major role in the IFT Committee on Education's 1958 Allerton House conference in Monticello, Illinois
Monticello, Illinois
Monticello is a city in Piatt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,138 at the 2000 census, and 5,374 at a 2009 estimate. It is the county seat of Piatt County.-Geography:Monticello is located at ....
that would lead to the first IFT undergraduate education standards in 1966.
Death and legacy
Proctor died in his office in 1959. He was survived by his wife, the former Miriam H. Patten. Led by Farkas, the IFT Food Engineering Division would create the Bernard E. Proctor Lectureship which was first held in 1996, but has been held in odd-numbered years since 1999. In even-numbered years since 2000, the Proctor Lectureship has been held in conjunction with the Marcel Loncin Research PrizeMarcel Loncin Research Prize
The Marcel Loncin Research Prize was established in 1994. It is awarded by the Institute of Food Technologists in even-numbered years to fund basic chemistry, physics, and/or engineering research applied to food processing and improving food quality...
.
Selected works
- Goldblith, S.A., B.E. Proctor, J.R. Hogness, and W.H. Langham (1949). "The Effect of Cathode Rays Produced at 3000 Kilovolts on Niacin Tagged with C14." Journal of Biological Chemistry. 179(3):1163-1167.
- Prescott, S.E. and B.E. Proctor (1937). Food Technology. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.