Emil Marcel Mrak (October 27, 1901 – April 9, 1987) was an American

food scientist Food science (or bromatology) is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing ...

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

, and second chancellor of the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

. He was recognized internationally for his work in

food preservation Food preservation includes processes that make food more resistant to microorganism growth and slow the redox, oxidation of fats. This slows down the decomposition and rancidification process. Food preservation may also include processes that in ...

and as a world authority on the biology of

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

Biography

Early years

Mrak was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

to a Croatian family, but did not grow up in that city. Instead, he was raised in the rural orchards of the

Santa Clara Valley The Santa Clara Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Santa Clara'') is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister, California, Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered ...

. He graduated from Campbell High School in Campbell, then went on to receive a B.S. degree in Food Technology in 1926,

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

degree in 1928, and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

degree 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

mycology Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, genetics, biochemistry, biochemical properties, and ethnomycology, use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, Edible ...

in 1936 from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. While an undergraduate at Berkeley, Mrak was a member of the

Alpha Gamma Rho Alpha Gamma Rho (; commonly known as AGR or The Rho) is an American social and professional agriculture-focused fraternity. It was established at Ohio State University in 1904. History Alpha Gamma Rho considers the Morrill Act of 1862 to be the ...

fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

Career

Mrak was appointed as an instructor in

food technology Food technology is a branch of food science that addresses the production, preservation, quality control and research and development of food products. It may also be understood as the science of ensuring that a society is food secure and ha ...

at UC Berkeley in 1937 and became professor and department chairman in 1948. In 1951, he led the move of the department to its current location at UC Davis, and was later appointed chancellor in 1959. He was the first food scientist to ever be named president or chancellor of a college or university. The only other food scientist to have this honor is

James L. Oblinger James L. Oblinger is an American academic administrator who was the 13th Chancellor of North Carolina State University. He served in this position from 2004, after the resignation of Chancellor Marye Anne Fox, until his resignation on June 8, 2009 ...

, chancellor of the

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

from 2005 to 2009. Mrak was recommended to UC President

Clark Kerr Clark Kerr (May 17, 1911 – December 1, 2003) was an American economist and academic administrator. He was the first chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, and twelfth president of the University of California. Early life and ...

by Harry R. Wellman. Kerr had to bring Mrak before the board three times in order to secure their reluctant approval of his appointment to lead the Davis campus. Upon encountering him, some regents initially thought that Mrak did not "look like a chancellor". However, both the Board of Regents and Kerr came to value Mrak's management skills, as well as his ability to effectively represent the university's interests in nearby Sacramento. At the time of Mrak's appointment, Davis was still tightly focused on agriculture due to its origins as the University Farm. Mrak successfully developed UC Davis into a general campus offering a rich variety of undergraduate and graduate programs, and he worked hard to turn the campus into a

bicycle-friendly Bicycle-friendly policies and practices help some people feel more comfortable about traveling by bicycle with other traffic. The level of bicycle-friendliness of an environment can be influenced by many factors including town planning and cycl ...

environment. A charter member of the

Institute of Food Technologists The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is an international, non-profit scientific society of professionals engaged in food science, food technology, and related areas in academia, government and industry. It has more than 17,000 members from ...

(IFT) in 1939, Mrak served as its President from 1957 to 1958. He also won numerous awards within IFT, including the

Nicholas Appert Award The Nicolas Appert Award is awarded by the Chicago Section of the Institute of Food Technologists for preeminence in and contributions to the field of food technology. The award has been given annually since 1942 and is named after Nicolas Appert, ...

(1957), the

Babcock-Hart Award The Babcock-Hart Award has been awarded since 1948 by the Institute of Food Technologists. It is given for significant contributions in food technology that resulted in public health through some aspects of nutrition. It was first named the Steph ...

(1961), the International Award (1963), election as a Fellow in 1970, and the Carl R. Fellers Award in 1984. He also served as chair of IFT's Northern California Section in 1947/48. In 1969, Mrak served as chairman of a federal government commission (which became known as the Mrak commission) that recommended restricting the use of the pesticide DDT. He also served as the first chairman of the Environmental Protection Agency's Science Advisory Council under President Richard M. Nixon.

Personal life

Mrak married Vera Dudley Greaves, a nutritionist, on November 15, 1945. They had two children: Robert Emil Mrak (December 18, 1948) and Antoinette Vera Mrak (July 15, 1951). Mrak died in

Davis, California Davis is the most populous city in Yolo County, California, United States. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 66,850 in 2020, not including the on-campus population of the University of ...

on April 9, 1987. Mrak Hall, the administration office building on the UC Davis campus, is named in his honor. In 1988, UC Davis also established the Emil M. Mrak International Award in his honor.

Honours and awards

*Alpha Gamma Rho Chi Brothers of the Century: 1923 *Alpha Gamma Rho Hall of Fame: 1980 *University of California, Berkeley Alumnus of the Year: 1969

Students

Herman Phaff Herman Jan Phaff (May 30, 1913 – August 24, 2001) was a scientist who specialised in yeast ecology. He was born in the Netherlands before moving to California at age of 26. He was active in Californian universities until his death. During his ...

References

External links

* Emil Mrak on the Davis Wiki
University of California: In Memoriam, 1987.
*
Images of Emil Mrak
from UCD Archives
Emil Mrak Papers
a
Special Collections Dept.
University Library, University of California, Davis {{DEFAULTSORT:Mrak, Emil M. 1901 births 1987 deaths American food scientists American microbiologists Fellows of the Institute of Food Technologists Academics from San Francisco University of California, Berkeley alumni University of California, Berkeley faculty Chancellors of the University of California, Davis Educators from California People from Davis, California 20th-century American academics Campbell High School (California) alumni