Carmel Humphries
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Carmel Humphries MRIA (3 June 1909 – 7 March 1986) was an Irish
zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...
, specialist in fresh water
Chironomidae Chironomidae , commonly known as non-biting midges or chironomids , are a family of Nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the families Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Although many chironomid ...
. She was the first female professor of zoology and head of department in Ireland, and devised a technique for the identification of chironomid flies that is still employed today.


Life

Carmel Frances Humphries was born in
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
on 3 June 1909, to engineer William Francis, and Annie Humphries (née Palmer). She was one of five children, sisters Annie (married Frank Kane) and Martha, and brothers William Francis (married Nancy Russell), and Alban. Humphries was first educated at the Ursuline convent, Waterford, and at the Loreto College, St Stephen's Green, Dublin. She entered
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 ...
(UCD) in 1929 to study science. During the course of her undergraduate study, Humphries won numerous scholarships, graduating in 1932 with an honours B.Sc. in
botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
and
zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
. She went on to gain an M.Sc. and H.Dip.Ed. in zoology and education in 1933, going on to win a travelling scholarship in zoology with
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 ...
(NUI) the same year. Humphries had developed an interest in pursuing a career in
limnology Limnology ( ; ) is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. It includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characteristics of fresh and saline, natural and man-made bodies of water. This includes the study of lakes, ...
(the study of lakes) rather than teaching, which she then studied abroad.


Career

Humphries worked with Winifred Frost, T. T. Macan and H. P. Moon at the Freshwater biological station at
Windermere Windermere (historically Winder Mere) is a ribbon lake in Cumbria, England, and part of the Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area, and volume, but considerably smaller than the List of lakes and lochs of the United Ki ...
in England from 1934 to 1936, focusing on the
Benthic zone The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning "the depths". ...
fauna in the lakes of
Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...
. Her work looked at the taxonomy of the larval and pupal stages of
Chironomidae Chironomidae , commonly known as non-biting midges or chironomids , are a family of Nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the families Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Although many chironomid ...
(non-biting midges or chironomids), resulting in a publication in the ''
Journal of Animal Ecology The ''Journal of Animal Ecology'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing research in all areas of animal ecology. It began publication in 1932, and as such is the second oldest journal of the British Ecological Society (after '' ...
'' in 1936. Humphries continued her study of chironomids at the Hydrobiologische Anstalt (later the
Max-Planck-Institut für Limnologie The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. Founded in 1911 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, it was renamed to the M ...
) at Plön from 1936 to 1938, working with
August Thienemann August Friedrich Thienemann (7 September 1882 in Gotha – 22 April 1960 in Plön) was a German limnologist, zoologist and ecologist. He studied zoology at the University of Greifswald. He was an associate Professor of Hydrobiology at the Univers ...
. Thienemann was a co-founder of the
International Society of Limnology The International Society of Limnology (SIL) is an international scientific society that disseminates information among limnologists, those who study all aspects of inland waters, including their physics, chemistry, biology, geology, and management ...
, and he was influential in Humphries undertaking the first comprehensive study of community composition and emergence periods of the Chironomidae of the
Großer Plöner See The Großer Plöner See ("Great Plön Lake") or Lake Plön ("Plöner See", ) is the largest lake (30 km2) in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located near the town of Plön. Its main tributary, as well as its main outflow, is the River Sc ...
. This group are deemed particularly difficult to identify or "taxonomically challenging". The results of this study were published in 1937 and 1938. She developed a method for the identification of Chironomidae by examining the microscopic skin the adult fly sheds when emerging from the pupa. It was based on this work that Humphries was awarded a PhD from NUI upon her return to Ireland in 1938, and became an assistant in zoology at
NUI Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...
until 1939. Over the next few years she held a number of temporary positions including senior demonstrator in zoology at UCD from 1939 to 1941 and assistant at
Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...
from 1941 to 1942, until being appointed permanently as an assistant in the zoology department at UCD in 1942, remaining at UCD for the rest of her career. She went on to be made statutory lecturer in zoology in 1947, succeeded
James Bayley Butler James Bayley Butler MBE MRIA (8 April 1884 – 21 February 1964) was an Irish biologist and academic, and was considered the foremost expert on the fungus which causes dry rot. Life James Bayley Butler was born in Secunderabad, India, on 8 ...
as head of department in 1957 which made her the first female professor of zoology and head of department in the country. Humphries retired from UCD in 1979. Due to her work on freshwater Chironomidae, Humphries was an authority on the taxonomy and ecology of this group in Ireland, publishing frequently in many academic journals including ''
Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy The ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy'' (''PRIA'') is the journal of the Royal Irish Academy, founded in 1785 to promote the study of science, polite literature, and antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the ...
''. During her tenure in UCD, she oversaw the move of the zoology department from the old
Royal College of Science The Royal College of Science was a higher education institution located in South Kensington; it was a constituent college of Imperial College London from 1907 until it was wholly absorbed by Imperial in 2002. Still to this day, graduates from t ...
buildings on Merrion Street to the new Belfield campus in the 1960s, and the building of the now defunct marine field station at Coliemore Harbour. Humprhies was an active member of the UCD Women's Graduates’ Association, and during her time in UCD there was an unusually high number of female staff, with three other female professors within the faculty of science, and the zoology department being staffed entirely by women for a time. She was awarded a D.Sc. by UCD in 1952, and a member 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 ...
(RIA) in 1950. She served on the RIA committee of science from 1955 to 1959, and was a contemporary of
D. A. Webb David Allardice Webb (12 August 1912 – 26 September 1994) was an Irish botanist and chair of botany at Trinity College, Dublin from 1949 to 1966. He was son of George and Dr Ella Webb. In Ireland he had studied under Henry Horatio Dixon and a ...
, James M. O'Connor, and A. E. J. Went. Humphries was also a member of the
Royal Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) () is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economically. It was long active as a learned ...
, the Institute of Biology of Ireland, and as an Irish representative to the International Society of Limnology and the English Freshwater Association. In 1957, when the British Association for the Advancement of Science convened in Dublin, Humphries was a member of the organising committee and edited the zoological section of the resulting handbook.


Later life and legacy

Humphries is remembered as an entertaining lecturer, and funded some of the continued education of her department's technical staff personally. She was a sufferer of diabetes, the condition which hampered her later life. She died in San Remo Nursing Home, Bray, County Wicklow on 7 March 1986, and is buried at
Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery () is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasnevin, Dublin, in two part ...
. '' Zalutschia humphriesiae'' was named in her honour, and the UCD Carmel Humphries prize is awarded every year to the best zoology postgraduate research seminar. The Irish Biogeographical Society dedicated the 1999 issue of Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society to her memory.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humphries, Carmel 1909 births 1986 deaths Scientists from County Waterford Irish limnologists 20th-century Irish women scientists Irish entomologists Alumni of University College Dublin Members of the Royal Irish Academy Women limnologists People educated at Loreto College, St Stephen's Green 20th-century Irish zoologists