WISE AWARDS TO FAR WEST ARS WOMEN

Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) is a professional society of federally employed women. The organization makes three annual awards: one for contributions in science, one in engineering, and one for lifetime achievement. These awards honor women not only for their own accomplishments, but also for the career support they give other women.

Antoinette A. Betschart (1994) - Director, ARS Western Regional Research Center in Albany, California, is internationally known for improving the nutritional quality of cereal grains and legumes. Betschart established the nutritional quality of amaranth and led a scientific team that developed the rapid production of transgenic wheat, to speed improvements in wheat quality, nutritional value, and pest resistance.

Phyllis E. Johnson (co-winner, 1993) - Acting Director, ARS Pacific West Area (Albany, California) invented a noninvasive technique to measure whole-body copper metabolism, showed that requirements for this element differ for men and women, and was the first to show that a specific nutrient - manganese - affects menstrual symptoms and volume.

Elizabeth L. Klepper (1991) - Columbia Plateau Conservation Research (Pendleton, Oregon) was one of the first to measure the time lag between changes in field environment and changes in the energy status of water within intact field-grown plants. Klepper's work led to research that quantified resistance to waterflow within the plant and its root system.

Return to News index