Emma Dietz Stecher

Emma Dietz Stecher
A young woman with dark wavy hair, from a yearbook photograph
Emma Dietz, later Stecher, from the 1925 yearbook of Barnard College
Born
Emma Margaret Dietz

September 23, 1905
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedDecember 6, 1998 (aged 93)
Other namesEmma Dietz Schultz
Occupation(s)Biochemist, college professor
Known forProfessor at Barnard College, 1945 to 1971

Emma Margaret Dietz Schultz Stecher (September 23, 1905 – December 6, 1998) was an American organic chemist. She was a professor at Barnard College from 1945 to 1971.

Early life and education

Dietz was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Nicholas Dietz and Emma Weidt Dietz. Her mother was active in church work; her father was a lawyer.[1] She graduated from Barnard College in 1925,[2] earned a master's degree from Columbia University in 1926, and completed doctoral studies at Bryn Mawr College in 1929.[3] Her older brother Nicholas Dietz Jr. also became a professor of biochemistry.[4]

Career

Dietz held a post-doctoral appointment as a researcher at Harvard University from 1929 to 1934, working with James B. Conant.[5] In 1934 she went to Munich as a postdoctoral fellow, funded by the American Association of University Women (AAUW).[6] From 1935 to 1937 she was a research chemist for Hercules Powder Company in Delaware.[7][8] She taught chemistry at Moravian College from 1938 to 1941, and at Connecticut College from 1941 to 1943.[1] She returned to industrial work as a chemist at General Aniline Company in Pennsylvania from 1943 to 1945.[3]

After World War II, Stecher was a chemistry professor and pre-med adviser[9] at her alma mater, Barnard College, from 1945 to 1971,[10][11][12] and was an adjunct professor at Pace University from 1971 to 1983. In 1955 she received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for research on benzylidenepyruvic acids.[13][14] She received another NSF grant for science education in 1961.[15]

Publications

  • "Studies in the Chlorophyll Series. XII. The Phaeopurpurins" (1934, with William F. Ross)[16]
  • "The Reaction of Fluorenone and Diazomethane—A New Route to 9-Phenanthrol Derivatives" (1940, with Raymond F. Schultz and John Cochran)[17]
  • "Ionization Constants and Rates of Ester Hydrolysis in the Benzylidenepyruvic Acid Series" (1952, with Helen Frances Ryder)[18]
  • "Enol-lactone Tautomers of β-Bromobenzylidenepyruvic Acids" (1954, with Ann Clements)[19]
  • "Dissociation Constants of Acids and Rates of Alkaline Hydrolysis of Esters in the Benzylidenepyruvic Acid Series" (1957, with Frances Dunn and Ernestine Gelblum)[20]
  • "Benzylidenepyruvic Acids. IV.1a o-Nitrobenzylidenepyruvic Acid and Its Enol-Lactone Tautomer" (1961, with Ernestine Gelblum)[21]
  • "Benzylidenepyruvic Acids. V. m-Nitrobenzylidenepyruvic Acid and Its Enol—Lactone Tautomer" (1965, with Anita Waldmann and Diane Fabiny)[22]
  • "Synthesis and stereochemistry of arylidenepyruvic acids and derived trans-.alpha.-bromocinnamic acids" (1973, with Mary J. Incorvia, Barbara Kerben, Dana Lavine, Margaret Cen, and Emmy Suhl)[23]

Personal life

Dietz married fellow biochemist Raymond F. Schultz.[24][25] She married her second husband, Paul George Stecher, in 1944; they divorced in 1965. She died in 1998, at the age of 93.

References

  1. ^ a b "Mrs. Emma Dietz, Active in Church; Rites Set for Tonight for Richmond Hill Woman". Brooklyn Eagle. 1942-08-22. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-10-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Barnard College, Mortarboard (1925 yearbook): 147.
  3. ^ a b American Men of Science: A Biographical Directory. Bowker. 1949. p. 2377.
  4. ^ "Rites Pending for Nicholas Dietz, Retired Professor from Creighton". Omaha World-Herald. 1984-06-01. p. 44. Retrieved 2024-10-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Class Notes". Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin: 25. 1936 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ "Class Notes". Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin: 27. 1934 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ "Class Notes". Barnard College Alumnae Monthly: 19. January 1936 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ "Women Play Leading Roles in Defense". The Albert Lea Tribune. 1942-02-05. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-10-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Pre-Medical Students". Barnard Bulletin. 1956-04-12. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-10-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "List Change in Faculty". Barnard Bulletin. 1945-09-26. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-10-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Dean Announces Faculty Retirements, Promotions". Barnard Bulletin. 1947-05-12. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-10-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Barnard Promotes 12". The New York Times. March 2, 1959. p. 19.
  13. ^ National Science Foundation, "Basic Research Grants Awarded in Fiscal Year 1955", Fifth Annual Report, p. 99.
  14. ^ "Profs Begin New Studies". Barnard Bulletin. 1954-10-07. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-10-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ National Science Foundation (U.S.) (1961). Annual Report of the National Science Foundation. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 259.
  16. ^ Dietz, Emma M.; Ross, William F. (January 1934). "Studies in the Chlorophyll Series. XII. The Phaeopurpurins 1". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 56 (1): 159–164. doi:10.1021/ja01316a052. ISSN 0002-7863.
  17. ^ Schultz, Raymond F.; Schultz, Emma Dietz; Cochran, John (November 1940). "The Reaction of Fluorenone and Diazomethane—A New Route to 9-Phenanthrol Derivatives". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 62 (11): 2902–2904. doi:10.1021/ja01868a005. ISSN 0002-7863.
  18. ^ Stecher, Emma Dietz; Ryder, Helen Frances (September 1952). "Ionization Constants and Rates of Ester Hydrolysis in the Benzylidenepyruvic Acid Series". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 74 (17): 4392–4395. doi:10.1021/ja01137a045. ISSN 0002-7863.
  19. ^ Stecher, Emma Dietz; Clements, Ann (January 1954). "Enol-lactone Tautomers of β-Bromobenzylidenepyruvic Acids". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 76 (2): 503–506. doi:10.1021/ja01631a051. ISSN 0002-7863.
  20. ^ Stecher, Emma Dietz; Dunn, Frances; Gelblum, Ernestine (September 1957). "Dissociation Constants of Acids and Rates of Alkaline Hydrolysis of Esters in the Benzylidenepyruvic Acid Series". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 79 (17): 4748–4754. doi:10.1021/ja01574a043. ISSN 0002-7863.
  21. ^ Stecher, Emma Dietz; Gelblum, Ernestine (August 1961). "Benzylidenepyruvic Acids. IV. 1a o-Nitrobenzylidenepyruvic Acid and Its Enol-Lactone Tautomer". The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 26 (8): 2693–2698. doi:10.1021/jo01066a020. ISSN 0022-3263.
  22. ^ Stecher, Emma Dietz; Waldmann, Anita; Fabiny, Diane (June 1965). "Benzylidenepyruvic Acids. V. m-Nitrobenzylidenepyruvic Acid and Its Enol—Lactone Tautomer *". The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 30 (6): 1800–1805. doi:10.1021/jo01017a021. ISSN 0022-3263.
  23. ^ Stecher, Emma D.; Incorvia, Mary J.; Kerben, Barbara; Lavine, Dana; Cen, Margaret; Suhl, Emmy (December 1973). "Synthesis and stereochemistry of arylidenepyruvic acids and derived trans-.alpha.-bromocinnamic acids". The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 38 (26): 4453–4457. doi:10.1021/jo00965a024. ISSN 0022-3263.
  24. ^ Schultz, Raymond F. (June 1939). "Studies in Ester Hydrolysis Equilibria--Formic Acid Esters". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 61 (6): 1443–1447. doi:10.1021/ja01875a033. ISSN 0002-7863.
  25. ^ "Chemical Unit Names Officers". The News Journal. 1947-04-10. p. 19. Retrieved 2024-10-02 – via Newspapers.com.