Mila Rechcigl
Encyclopedia
Miloslav Rechcigl, Jr., or Mila Rechcigl, is a trained biochemist
, nutritionist
and cancer
researcher
, writer, editor
, historian
, bibliographer
and genealogist. He was one of the founders and past President for many years of the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences
.
, Czechoslovakia
. His father, Miloslav Rechcigl, Sr.
, was a prominent politician in the pre-World War II Czechoslovakia, having been elected as the youngest member to the Czechoslovak Parliament and who held the position of President of the Millers Association of Bohemia
and Moravia
. After the communist takeover, he escaped from his native country and in 1950 immigrated to the United States, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1955. He studied at Cornell University
from 1951–58, receiving his B.S., M.N.S., and Ph.D. degrees there, specializing in biochemistry
, nutrition
, physiology
, and food science
.
He then spent two years conducting research at the National Institutes of Health
in Bethesda, Maryland
, as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow
. Subsequently he was appointed as research biochemist to the staff of the Laboratory of Biochemistry at the National Cancer Institute
. During 1968-69 he was selected for one year of training in a special USPHS executive program in health administration, research
management
, grants
administration, and science policy
.
This led to his appointment as Special Assistant for Nutrition and Health in the Health Services and Mental Health Administration. In 1970 he joined the US Agency for International Development,which was originally a part of the US Department of State, as nutrition advisor and later was put in charge of research program.
. He then studied the relationship between protein
and vitamin A
which led to the finding that the amount, as well as biological value
, of dietary protein are important in the process of converting carotene
to vitamin A.
Other studies dealt with metabolic changes during cachexia
of tumor-bearing animals. One of the most striking affects of tumor on the host
was the depression of enzyme
catalase
in the livers and in the kidneys which some investigators thought was due to a hypothetical substance, referred to as toxohormone. This was disproved by finding significant levels of the enzyme in liver tumors.
A number of his studies dealt with the question of enzyme turnover
in vivo. Using specific metabolic inhibitors
, he evaluated relative rates of synthesis
and degradation
of the enzyme catalase under a variety of physiological, pathological and pharmacological conditions. These studies led to the conclusion that the rate of synthesis rather than the rate of destruction may be the preferential way of the mammalian organism
to control its enzyme levels.
His finding of greatly different levels of catalase activity in certain substrains of mice, which were under genetic
control, provided an excellent model for pursuing fundamental research in biochemical genetics in the mammalian system. The analyses of the first, the second the backcross generations between high-enzyme and low-enzyme mouse substrains showed that the difference was due to a single autosomal gene
pair with low dominant to high. Using specific metabolic inhibitors, it was subsequently found that the genetic difference between the two substrains lies primarily in the markedly increased rate of the enzyme destruction in the liver of one of the substrains. This was a unique finding since in all normal rats and mice studied previously the rates of enzyme destruction seemed to be almost constant. Although transient alteration in the rate of enzyme degradation has been observed under certain physiological conditions with other enzyme systems, the observation on catalase iwas believed to be the first demonstration of such regulatory mechanism under genetic control.
Other studies dealt with the morphology
, biochemistry and physiology
of microbodies, on which he collaborated with Prof. Z.. Hruban of the University of Chicago
, that led to the monograph Microbodies and Related Particles (1969).
, nutrition
, food science
and food technology
, agriculture
, and international development
, in addition to a large number of scientific articles and book chapters, including:
He was responsible for the first two Society's World Congresses, both of which were a great success and which put the Society on the world map. He also edited the Congress lectures and arranged for their publication, under the title The Czechoslovak Contribution to World Culture and Czechoslovakia Past and Present The publications received acclaim in the American academic circles and greatly contributed to the growing prestige of the Society worldwide.
Dr. Rechcigl was also involved, one way or another, with most of the subsequent SVU World Congresses, including the recent SVU Congresses in Prague
, Brno
, Bratislava
, Washington, D.C.
, Plzeň, Olomouc
and České Budějovice
.Prior to his last term as the SVU President (2004–06), he held similar posts during 1974-76, 1976–78, and again in 1994-96, 1996–98, 1998–2000, 2000–02 and 2002-04.
In 1999, in conjunction with President Václav Havel
's visit to Minnesota, he organized a memorable conference at the University of Minnesota
on "Czech and Slovak America: Quo Vadis?"
Together with his wife Eva, he published eight editions of the SVU Biographical Directory, the last of which was printed in Prague in 2003. He was instrumental in launching a new English periodical Kosmas. Czechoslovak and Central European Journal. He also proposed the establishment of the SVU Research Institute and the creation of the SVU Commission for Cooperation with Czechoslovakia, and its Successor States, the Czech Republic
and Slovakia
, which played an important role in the first years after the Velvet Revolution
of 1989. Under the sponsorship of the SVU Research Institute, together with his colleagues, he conducted a series of workshops about research management and the art of "grantsmanship" for scientists and scholars, as well as for the administrators and science policy makers, at Czech and Slovak universities, the Academies of Sciences (Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
, Slovak Academy of Sciences
) and the Government.
He established the National Heritage Commission with the aim of preserving Czech and Slovak cultural heritage
in America. Under its aegis, he had undertaken a comprehensive survey of Czech-related historic sites and archival materials in the US. Based on this survey, he has prepared a detailed listing, Czech-American Historic Sites, Monuments, and Memorials which was published through the courtesy of Palacký University of Olomouc (2004). The second part of the survey, bearing the title Czechoslovak American Archivalia,. was also published by Palacky University (2004).
Among historians, Dr. Rechcigl is well known for his studies on history, genealogy
, and bibliography
of Czech Americans and Slovak Americans. A number of his publications deal with the early immigrants from the Czech lands and Slovakia, including the immigration of Moravian Brethren to America. In the last few years he has been working on the cultural contributions of Czech Americans and Slovak Americans. A selection of his biographical portraits of prominent Czech Americans from the 17th century to date has been published in Prague, under the title Postavy nasí Ameriky (Personalities of our America). On the occasion of his 75th birthday, the Society published a collection of his essays, under the title Czechs and Slovaks in America, as a part of the East European Monographs series, distributed by the Columbia University Press
.
, member of the Scientific Research Society of the Sigma Xi
, member of the Cosmos Club
, Honorary Member of the International Honor Society of Delta Tau Kappa and Honorary Member of the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences. He was also elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS), Fellow of the Washington Academy of Sciences and Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists (AIC) and Fellow of the International College of Applied Nutrition.
In 1991, on the occasion of its 100th anniversary, the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
awarded him the Hlavka Memorial Medal. In 1997 he received a newly established prize "Gratias agit" from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. In 1999, on the occasion of President Václav Havel
's visit to the US, President Havel presented him, on behalf of SVU, the Presidential Memorial Medal. More recently, he was given an honorary title Nebraska Admiral
("Admiral of the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska")by the Governor of Nebraska
Mike Johanns
and the key to the Capital of Nebraska by the Mayor of Lincoln
and the SVU Prague Chapter awarded him 2002 Praha SVU Award. In 2005 Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Cyril Svoboda
honored him by awarding him Jan Masaryk
Medal for his contributions in preserving and fostering relations between the Czech Republic and the United States. In 2006 he received Comenius
Award from the Czech Cultural Center in Houston.
Mila Rechcigl lives with his wife Eva in Washington, D.C. area.
They have two children, Jack and Karen, who live in Florida. Jack Rechcigl is professor of soil and water sciences at University of Florida
and Director of Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Wimauma.
Biochemist
Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. Typical biochemists study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. The prefix of "bio" in "biochemist" can be understood as a fusion of "biological chemist."-Role:...
, nutritionist
Nutritionist
A nutritionist is a person who advises on matters of food and nutrition impacts on health. Different professional terms are used in different countries, employment settings and contexts — some examples include: nutrition scientist, public health nutritionist, dietitian-nutritionist, clinical...
and cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
researcher
Researcher
A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...
, writer, editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, bibliographer
Bibliographer
"A bibliographer is a person who describes and lists books and other publications, with particular attention to such characteristics as authorship, publication date, edition, typography, etc. The result of this endeavor is a bibliography...
and genealogist. He was one of the founders and past President for many years of the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences
Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences
Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences is a nonprofit, nonpolitical, cultural organization, dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, the free dissemination of ideas, and the fostering of contacts among people...
.
Biography
He was born on July 30, 1930 in Mladá BoleslavMladá Boleslav
Mladá Boleslav is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, on the left bank of the Jizera river about 50 km northeast of Prague.Founded in the second half of the 10th century by King Boleslav II as a royal castle...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. His father, Miloslav Rechcigl, Sr.
Miloslav Rechcigl, Sr.
Miloslav Rechcigl, Sr. was a Czech politician, miller, business executive and editor for Radio Free Europe.He was born in Chocnejovice, a village in the Mladá Boleslav District, Czechoslovakia, on May 13, 1904. Rechcigl was an active member of the Agrarian Party in Czechoslovakia before the World...
, was a prominent politician in the pre-World War II Czechoslovakia, having been elected as the youngest member to the Czechoslovak Parliament and who held the position of President of the Millers Association of Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
and Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
. After the communist takeover, he escaped from his native country and in 1950 immigrated to the United States, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1955. He studied at 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...
from 1951–58, receiving his B.S., M.N.S., and Ph.D. degrees there, specializing in biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
, 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....
, physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, and food science
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"...
.
He then spent two years conducting research at the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
, as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
. Subsequently he was appointed as research biochemist to the staff of the Laboratory of Biochemistry at the National Cancer Institute
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...
. During 1968-69 he was selected for one year of training in a special USPHS executive program in health administration, research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
, grants
Grant (money)
Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...
administration, and science policy
Science policy
Science policy is an area of public policy concerned with the policies that affect the conduct of the science and research enterprise, including the funding of science, often in pursuance of other national policy goals such as technological innovation to promote commercial product development,...
.
This led to his appointment as Special Assistant for Nutrition and Health in the Health Services and Mental Health Administration. In 1970 he joined the US Agency for International Development,which was originally a part of the US Department of State, as nutrition advisor and later was put in charge of research program.
Research activities
In his research, he initially specialized in amino acid metabolism, including the utilization of D-amino acids and non specific forms of nitrogenNitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
. He then studied the relationship between protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
and vitamin A
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a vitamin that is needed by the retina of the eye in the form of a specific metabolite, the light-absorbing molecule retinal, that is necessary for both low-light and color vision...
which led to the finding that the amount, as well as biological value
Biological Value
Biological value is a measure of the proportion of absorbed protein from a food which becomes incorporated into the proteins of the organism's body. It summarises how readily the broken down protein can be used in protein synthesis in the cells of the organism. Proteins are the major source of...
, of dietary protein are important in the process of converting carotene
Carotene
The term carotene is used for several related unsaturated hydrocarbon substances having the formula C40Hx, which are synthesized by plants but cannot be made by animals. Carotene is an orange photosynthetic pigment important for photosynthesis. Carotenes are all coloured to the human eye...
to vitamin A.
Other studies dealt with metabolic changes during cachexia
Cachexia
Cachexia or wasting syndrome is loss of weight, muscle atrophy, fatigue, weakness, and significant loss of appetite in someone who is not actively trying to lose weight...
of tumor-bearing animals. One of the most striking affects of tumor on the host
Host (biology)
In biology, a host is an organism that harbors a parasite, or a mutual or commensal symbiont, typically providing nourishment and shelter. In botany, a host plant is one that supplies food resources and substrate for certain insects or other fauna...
was the depression of enzyme
Enzyme
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...
catalase
Catalase
Catalase is a common enzyme found in nearly all living organisms that are exposed to oxygen, where it catalyzes the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen...
in the livers and in the kidneys which some investigators thought was due to a hypothetical substance, referred to as toxohormone. This was disproved by finding significant levels of the enzyme in liver tumors.
A number of his studies dealt with the question of enzyme turnover
Turnover number
Turnover number has two related meanings:In enzymology, turnover number is defined as the maximum number of molecules of substrate that an enzyme can convert to product per catalytic site per unit of time and can be calculated as follows: kcat = Vmax/[E]T...
in vivo. Using specific metabolic inhibitors
Enzyme inhibitor
An enzyme inhibitor is a molecule that binds to enzymes and decreases their activity. Since blocking an enzyme's activity can kill a pathogen or correct a metabolic imbalance, many drugs are enzyme inhibitors. They are also used as herbicides and pesticides...
, he evaluated relative rates of synthesis
Biosynthesis
Biosynthesis is an enzyme-catalyzed process in cells of living organisms by which substrates are converted to more complex products. The biosynthesis process often consists of several enzymatic steps in which the product of one step is used as substrate in the following step...
and degradation
Chemical decomposition
Chemical decomposition, analysis or breakdown is the separation of a chemical compound into elements or simpler compounds. It is sometimes defined as the exact opposite of a chemical synthesis. Chemical decomposition is often an undesired chemical reaction...
of the enzyme catalase under a variety of physiological, pathological and pharmacological conditions. These studies led to the conclusion that the rate of synthesis rather than the rate of destruction may be the preferential way of the mammalian organism
Organism
In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...
to control its enzyme levels.
His finding of greatly different levels of catalase activity in certain substrains of mice, which were under genetic
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
control, provided an excellent model for pursuing fundamental research in biochemical genetics in the mammalian system. The analyses of the first, the second the backcross generations between high-enzyme and low-enzyme mouse substrains showed that the difference was due to a single autosomal gene
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
pair with low dominant to high. Using specific metabolic inhibitors, it was subsequently found that the genetic difference between the two substrains lies primarily in the markedly increased rate of the enzyme destruction in the liver of one of the substrains. This was a unique finding since in all normal rats and mice studied previously the rates of enzyme destruction seemed to be almost constant. Although transient alteration in the rate of enzyme degradation has been observed under certain physiological conditions with other enzyme systems, the observation on catalase iwas believed to be the first demonstration of such regulatory mechanism under genetic control.
Other studies dealt with the morphology
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
, biochemistry and physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
of microbodies, on which he collaborated with Prof. Z.. Hruban of the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, that led to the monograph Microbodies and Related Particles (1969).
Scientific publications
He is the author or editor of over thirty monographs and handbooks in the field of biochemistry, physiologyPhysiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, 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....
, food science
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"...
and 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:...
, agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, and international development
International development
International development or global development is a concept that lacks a universally accepted definition, but it is most used in a holistic and multi-disciplinary context of human development — the development of greater quality of life for humans...
, in addition to a large number of scientific articles and book chapters, including:
Monographs
- Microbodies and Related Particles. (International Review of Cytology. Supplement No. 1). New York and London, Academic PressAcademic PressAcademic Press is an academic book publisher. Originally independent, it was acquired by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1969. Reed Elsevier bought Harcourt in 2000, and Academic Press is now an imprint of Elsevier....
, 1969. 296 pp.; also in Russian. - Enzyme Synthesis and Degradation in Mammalian Systems. Basel-Munchen-Paris-London-New York-Sydney: S. Karger, 1971. 477 pp.
- Food, Nutrition and Health. A Multidisciplinary Treatise Addressed to the Major Nutrition Problems from a World Wide Perspective. Basel-Munchen- Paris-London-New York-Sydney: S. Karger, 1973. 516 pp.
- Man, Food, and Nutrition. Strategies and Technological Measures for Alleviating the World Food Problem. Cleveland, OH: CRC Press, 1973. 344 pp.
- World Food Problem. A Selective Bibliography of Reviews. Cleveland, OH: CRC Press, 1975. 211 pp.
- Comparative Animal Nutrition. Vol. 1. Carbohydrates, Lipids, and ccessory Growth Factors. Basel-Munchen-Paris-London-New York-Sydney: S. Karger, 1976. 223 pp.
- Comparative Animal Nutrition. Vol. 2 Nutrient Elements and Toxicants. Basel-Munchen-Paris-London-New York-Sydney: S. Karger, 1977. 208 pp.
- Comparative Animal Nutrition. Vol. 3. Nitrogen, Electrolytes, Water and Energy Metabolism. Basel-Munchen-Paris-London-New York- Sydney: S.Karger, 1979. 260 pp.
- Comparative Animal Nutrition. Vol. 4. Physiology of Growth and Nutrition. Basel-Munchen-Paris-London-New York-Sydney: S. Karger, 1981. 341 pp.
- Nutrition and World Food Problem. Basel-Munchen-Paris-London-New York-Sydney: S. Karger, 1979. 375 pp.
Handbooks
- CRC Handbook Series in Nutrition and Food. Nutritional Requirements. Vol. 1. Comparative and Quantitative Requirements. Cleveland, OH: CRC PressCRC PressThe CRC Press, LLC is a publishing group which specializes in producing technical books. While many of their books relate to engineering, science and mathematics, their scope also includes books on business, forensics and information technology...
, 1977. 551 pp. - CRC Handbook Series in Nutrition and Food. Sect. G. Diets, Culture Media, Food Supplements. Vol. 1. Dits for Mammals. Cleveland, OH: CRC Press, 1977. 645 pp.
- CRC Handbook Series in Nutrition and Food. Sect. G. Diets, Culture Media, Food Supplements. Vol. 2. Food Habits of and Diets for Invertebrates and Vertebrates. Zoo diets. Cleveland, OH: CRC Press, 1977. 462 pp.
- CRC Handbook Series in Nutrition and Food. Sect. G. Diets, Culture Media, Food Supplements. Vol. 3. Culture Media for Microorganisms and Plants. Cleveland, OH: CRC Press, 1978. 647 pp.
- CRC Handbook Series in Nutrition and Food. Sect. G. Diets, Culture Media, Food Supplements. Vol. 4. Culture Media for Cells, Organs and Embryos. Cleveland, OH: CRC Press, 1977. 469 pp.
- CRC Handbook Series in Nutrition and Food. Sect. E. Nutritional Disorders. Vol. 1. Effect of Nutrient Excesses and Toxicities in Animals and Man. West Palm Beach, FL: CRC Press, 1978. 518 pp.
- CRC Handbook Series in Nutrition and Food. Sect. E. Nutritional Disorders. Vol. 2. Effect of Nutrient Deficiencies in Animals. West Palm Beach, FL: CRC Press, 1978. 548 pp.
- CRC Handbook Series in Nutrition and Food. Sect. E. Nutritional Disorders. Vol. 3. Effect of Nutrient Deficiencies in Man. West Palm Beach, FL: CRC Press, 1978. 388 pp.
- CRC Handbook of Nutritional Requirements in a Functional Context. Vol. 1. Development and Conditions of Physiologic Stress. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1981. 542 pp.
- CRC Handbook of Nutritional Requirements in a Functional context. vol. 2. Hematopoiesis and Resistance to Physical Stress. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1981. 594 pp.
- CRC Handbook of Nutritive Value of Processed Food. vol. 1. Food for Human Use. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1982. 679 pp.
- CRC Handbook of Nutritive Value of Processed Food. Vol. 2. Animal Feedstuffs. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1982. 499 pp.
- CRC Handbook of Agricultural Productivity. Vol. 1. Plant Productivity. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1982. 468 pp.
- CRC Handbook of Agricultural Productivity. vol. 2. Animal Productivity. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1982. 396 pp. CRC Handbook of Nutritional Supplements. Vol. 1. Human Use. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1983. 564 pp.
- CRC Handbook of Nutritional Supplements. Vol. 2. Agricultural Use. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1983. 412 pp.
- CRC Hanndvook of Naturally Occurring Food Toxicants. Boca Raton. FL: CRC Press, 1983. 339 pp.
- CRC Handbook of Foodborne Diseases of Biological Origin. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1983. 518 pp.
Czech-American activism
Apart from his purely scientific endeavors as a researcher and science administrator, Dr. Rechcigl devoted almost 50 years of his life to the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences (SVU), an international organization, with headquarters in Washington, D. C.He was responsible for the first two Society's World Congresses, both of which were a great success and which put the Society on the world map. He also edited the Congress lectures and arranged for their publication, under the title The Czechoslovak Contribution to World Culture and Czechoslovakia Past and Present The publications received acclaim in the American academic circles and greatly contributed to the growing prestige of the Society worldwide.
Dr. Rechcigl was also involved, one way or another, with most of the subsequent SVU World Congresses, including the recent SVU Congresses in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
, Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Plzeň, Olomouc
Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
and České Budějovice
Ceské Budejovice
České Budějovice is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the largest city in the South Bohemian Region and is the political and commercial capital of the region and centre of the Roman Catholic Diocese of České Budějovice and of the University of South Bohemia and the Academy of Sciences...
.Prior to his last term as the SVU President (2004–06), he held similar posts during 1974-76, 1976–78, and again in 1994-96, 1996–98, 1998–2000, 2000–02 and 2002-04.
In 1999, in conjunction with President Václav Havel
Václav Havel
Václav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
's visit to Minnesota, he organized a memorable conference at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
on "Czech and Slovak America: Quo Vadis?"
Together with his wife Eva, he published eight editions of the SVU Biographical Directory, the last of which was printed in Prague in 2003. He was instrumental in launching a new English periodical Kosmas. Czechoslovak and Central European Journal. He also proposed the establishment of the SVU Research Institute and the creation of the SVU Commission for Cooperation with Czechoslovakia, and its Successor States, the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, which played an important role in the first years after the Velvet Revolution
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
of 1989. Under the sponsorship of the SVU Research Institute, together with his colleagues, he conducted a series of workshops about research management and the art of "grantsmanship" for scientists and scholars, as well as for the administrators and science policy makers, at Czech and Slovak universities, the Academies of Sciences (Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic was established in 1992 by the Czech National Council as the Czech successor of the former Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. The Academy is the leading non-university public research institution in the Czech Republic...
, Slovak Academy of Sciences
Slovak Academy of Sciences
The Slovak Academy of Sciences SAV is the main scientific and research institution in Slovakia fostering basic and strategic basic research...
) and the Government.
He established the National Heritage Commission with the aim of preserving Czech and Slovak cultural heritage
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
in America. Under its aegis, he had undertaken a comprehensive survey of Czech-related historic sites and archival materials in the US. Based on this survey, he has prepared a detailed listing, Czech-American Historic Sites, Monuments, and Memorials which was published through the courtesy of Palacký University of Olomouc (2004). The second part of the survey, bearing the title Czechoslovak American Archivalia,. was also published by Palacky University (2004).
Among historians, Dr. Rechcigl is well known for his studies on history, genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
, and bibliography
Bibliography
Bibliography , as a practice, is the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology...
of Czech Americans and Slovak Americans. A number of his publications deal with the early immigrants from the Czech lands and Slovakia, including the immigration of Moravian Brethren to America. In the last few years he has been working on the cultural contributions of Czech Americans and Slovak Americans. A selection of his biographical portraits of prominent Czech Americans from the 17th century to date has been published in Prague, under the title Postavy nasí Ameriky (Personalities of our America). On the occasion of his 75th birthday, the Society published a collection of his essays, under the title Czechs and Slovaks in America, as a part of the East European Monographs series, distributed by the Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by James D. Jordan and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fields of literary and cultural studies, history, social work, sociology,...
.
Recognition
Dr. Rechcigl is a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa PhiPhi Kappa Phi
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is an honor society established 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study and to promote the "unity and democracy of education"...
, member of the Scientific Research Society of the Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society is a non-profit honor society which was founded in 1886 at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a handful of graduate students. Members elect others on the basis of their research achievements or potential...
, member of the Cosmos Club
Cosmos Club
The Cosmos Club is a private social club in Washington, D.C., founded by John Wesley Powell in 1878. In addition to Powell, original members included Clarence Edward Dutton, Henry Smith Pritchett, William Harkness, and John Shaw Billings. Among its stated goals is "The advancement of its members in...
, Honorary Member of the International Honor Society of Delta Tau Kappa and Honorary Member of the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences. He was also elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
(AAAS), Fellow of the Washington Academy of Sciences and Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists (AIC) and Fellow of the International College of Applied Nutrition.
In 1991, on the occasion of its 100th anniversary, the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences was established in 1953 to be the scientific center for Czechoslovakia. It was succeeded by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in 1992.-History:...
awarded him the Hlavka Memorial Medal. In 1997 he received a newly established prize "Gratias agit" from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. In 1999, on the occasion of President Václav Havel
Václav Havel
Václav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
's visit to the US, President Havel presented him, on behalf of SVU, the Presidential Memorial Medal. More recently, he was given an honorary title Nebraska Admiral
Nebraska Admiral
Nebraska Admiral is Nebraska's highest honor, and an honorary title bestowed upon individuals by approval of the Governor of Nebraska, a landlocked U.S. state. It is not a military rank, requires no duties, and carries with it no pay or other compensation...
("Admiral of the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska")by the Governor of Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
Mike Johanns
Mike Johanns
Michael Owen "Mike" Johanns is an American Republican politician who has been the junior United States Senator from Nebraska since 2009. Previously he was the 38th Governor of Nebraska from 1999 to 2005 and was U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 2005 to 2007, becoming the fourth Nebraskan to hold...
and the key to the Capital of Nebraska by the Mayor of Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
and the SVU Prague Chapter awarded him 2002 Praha SVU Award. In 2005 Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Cyril Svoboda
Cyril Svoboda
Cyril Svoboda is a Czech politician. Before entering politics he was a notary public and advisor to the Czech government. He is a member of the Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party...
honored him by awarding him Jan Masaryk
Jan Masaryk
Jan Garrigue Masaryk was a Czech diplomat and politician and Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia from 1940 to 1948.- Early life :...
Medal for his contributions in preserving and fostering relations between the Czech Republic and the United States. In 2006 he received Comenius
Comenius
John Amos Comenius ; ; Latinized: Iohannes Amos Comenius) was a Czech teacher, educator, and writer. He served as the last bishop of Unity of the Brethren, and became a religious refugee and one of the earliest champions of universal education, a concept eventually set forth in his book Didactica...
Award from the Czech Cultural Center in Houston.
Mila Rechcigl lives with his wife Eva in Washington, D.C. area.
They have two children, Jack and Karen, who live in Florida. Jack Rechcigl is professor of soil and water sciences at University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
and Director of Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Wimauma.
External links
- Rechcigl's bio on SVU Website
- Rechcigl's Professional Page
- Rechcigl's Writings on Czechoslovak America: A Bibliography
- Rechcigl's New book on Czechs andlovaks in America
- Historian/Genealogist on Czechs and Slovaks in America
- Rechcigl named SVU Archivist
- Rechcigl put in charge of Czech American Biography
- Czechoslovak Society of Arts and SciencesCzechoslovak Society of Arts and SciencesCzechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences is a nonprofit, nonpolitical, cultural organization, dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, the free dissemination of ideas, and the fostering of contacts among people...