Robert O. Nesheim was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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...

 for Quaker Oats. During his time he worked for Quaker he helped develop cereals such as Cap'n Crunch

Cap'n Crunch

Cap'n Crunch is a product line of sweetened corn and oat breakfast cereals introduced in 1963 and manufactured by Quaker Oats Company. Quaker Oats has been a division of PepsiCo since 2001. The product line is heralded by a cartoon mascot named Cap'n Crunch, a sea captain .-Development:Pamela Low,...

 and Life

Life (cereal)

Life is a breakfast cereal made of whole grain oats, distributed by the Quaker Oats Company. It was introduced in 1961. The cereal's advertisements currently sport the slogan "Life is full of surprises".- History :...

. He worked with the brand from 1952 to 1983. He briefly taught at his alma mater

Alma mater

Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...

, the University of Illinois, in the 1960s.

After working with Quaker he worked on improving food guidelines for the healfcare industry and the military. He retired in 1998. He suffered from prostate cancer

Prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...

for several years. Nesheim died on July 19, 2008.