Eva Philbin (4 January 1914 – 24 June 2005) was an Irish

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

who became the first woman president of the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland. Her research focused on the biochemical properties of

flavonoids Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

, complex compounds found in plants.

Early life and education

Born Eva Maria Ryder in

Ballina, County Mayo Ballina ( ; ) is a town in north County Mayo, Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountains to the east and the Nephin Beg Ra ...

, Ireland, she was the elder of two daughters of Kate, a business owner, and George Ryder. She attended the Convent of Mercy in Ballina, a local school, then received a scholarship to

University College Galway The University of Galway () is a public university, public research university located in the city of Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Ga ...

where she received her bachelor's degree with first class honours in 1936. She remained there for her master's degree, which she earned working in carbohydrate chemistry with Thomas Dillon, identifying carbohydrates in

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), '' Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

Career and research

After completing her master's degree, she stayed on at UCG as an assistant in the chemistry department for two years. In 1939, due to World War II, she changed paths to industrial chemistry and became chief chemist at the farm chemical manufacturer Hygeia Ltd in Galway. At Hygeia she was responsible for developing alternative sources for chemicals that were unavailable due to the war. During this time, she was also chief chemist at Cold Chon Ltd, a manufacturer of

bituminous Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American English, the m ...

binders and

road surfacing A road surface (British English) or pavement (North American English) is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, macadam, ho ...

materials. In 1945, Philbin joined the staff at

University College, Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

as demonstrator in the department of chemistry. There she collaborated with Thomas S. Wheeler, former Irish State Chemist, to establish an active research school in biochemistry. Philbin was subsequently promoted to assistant lecturer in 1949 and college lecturer in 1955. She began to publish on flavonoid chemistry in earnest in 1952, working on the Wessely-Moser rearrangement and Baker–Venkataraman rearrangement in relation to flavonoid compounds. She earned her Ph.D. in 1956, then had a brief stint as a visiting fellow at the Eidgenossische Polytechnikum Zurich with

Vladimir Prelog Vladimir Prelog (23 July 1906 – 7 January 1998) was a Croatian-Swiss organic chemist who received the 1975 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his research into the stereochemistry of organic molecules and reactions. Prelog was born, and spent his ...

, working on flavonoid

stereochemistry Stereochemistry, a subdiscipline of chemistry, studies the spatial arrangement of atoms that form the structure of molecules and their manipulation. The study of stereochemistry focuses on the relationships between stereoisomers, which are defined ...

. In 1958, she was awarded a doctorate of science (DSc) from the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

in recognition of her contributions. Philbin was one of the first women science professors at UCD when she became an

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

professor in 1962. In 1963, she took over as head of the chemistry department following the death of Wheeler, the previous department head. She continued to work on flavonoid stereochemistry and the compounds' role as potential anti-cancer agents through collaborations with researchers including Hugh Ryan and

Elias James Corey Elias James Corey (born July 12, 1928) is an American organic chemist. In 1990, he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his development of the theory and methodology of organic synthesis", specifically retrosynthetic analysis. Regarded by ma ...

. She retired from teaching in 1979 from her professorship, but continued to conduct some research. Over her long career, Philbin became a fellow of the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...

and a member of the Council of the Royal Irish Academy and the Natural Science Council. Philbin became the first woman to chair the National Science Council, was the first female senior vice-president of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

, and was the first woman president of the Institute of Chemistry in 1966. Since 2007, the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland Annual Award for Chemistry lectures series has been named in her honor as the Eva Philbin Public Lecture Series. Philbin's interests ranged beyond science, taking a strong interest in the treatment of those with learning difficulties, leading her to take up the chair of the Consultative Council on Mental Handicap as well as becoming honorary treasurer of the National Association for the Mentally Handicapped of Ireland.

Personal life

During the war, Eva married John 'Jack' Madden Philbin, and they had two daughters and a son. Jack died in 1997. Her eldest daughter Eimear became a physician, as did her younger daughter Deirdre. Eimear married broadcaster and historian John Bowman. Her son Liam's disability was the impetus for her work with the National Association for the Mentally Handicapped of Ireland, which continued through her entire life. Philbin died in 2005, aged 91.

References

External links

List of Eva Philbin's Scientific Contributions, Researchgate

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philbin, Eva 1914 births 2005 deaths 20th-century Irish chemists Irish women chemists Members of the Royal Irish Academy 20th-century Irish women scientists People from Ballina, County Mayo Alumni of University College Dublin Academics of University College Dublin Scientists from County Mayo