Eric John Underwood AO,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(7 September 1905 – 19 August 1980) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

who pioneered research into

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...

and

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

production.

Personal life

Underwood was born in Harlington,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 7 September 1905, the youngest of three children to James and Elizabeth Underwood. When Elizabeth died in 1907, Underwood and his siblings were placed in the care of family while James migrated to

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

and established himself at Mount Barker. After a long period of correspondence James convinced a friend Kate Taysom to accompany the children to

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

in 1913. James and Kate were married the day after their arrival. On 23 June 1934 Eric Underwood married school teacher Erica Chandler at St Andrews Church,

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, and they had two daughters and two sons. Underwood died in

Royal Perth Hospital Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) is a 450-bed adult and teaching hospital located on the northeastern edge of the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. History The hospital traces its history back to the first colonial hospital, whi ...

on 19 August 1980.

Education

The family stayed in Mount Barker until 1920 when James took up a property near Coorow in Western Australia's

Mid West The Mid West region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is a sparsely populated region extending from the west coast of Western Australia, about north and south of its administrative centre of Geraldton and inland to east of W ...

region. Underwood boarded in Perth for schooling, going to North Perth State and

Perth Modern School Perth Modern School (colloquially known as Perth Mod) is a public co-educational academically selective high school, located in Subiaco, an inner city suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Perth Modern is Western Australia's only fully academica ...

, and returning to the Coorow property during school holidays. In 1924 Underwood commenced a cadetship with the

Department of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

and studied Agriculture at The University of Western Australia, gaining his bachelor of science in 1928, which he graduated with honours. His thesis, ''A botanical and chemical study of Western Australian pastures'', was published in 1929. Underwood the took up the Hackett research studentship to study at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

obtaining his

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

of Science in 1931 and returning to Western Australia. In June 1936 Underwood undertook a two-year

fellowship A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

funded by the Commonwealth at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. When he returned to Western Australia, he was invited to work with The

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

's Institute of Agriculture.

Research

On his return to Western Australia, Underwood returned to the Department of Agriculture. In 1933 he was appointed Animal Nutrition Officer. One of the first research studies he undertook was on '' Denmark wasting disease'' in

, as there was speculation that the disease was caused by

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

deficiency. At the same time Hedley Marston was researching the disease in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, and in January 1935, Marston published his findings concluding that the cause was a deficiency in the trace element

cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. ...

, Underwood published his findings in March 1935 with similar conclusions. Years later the findings were confirmed with cobalt-containing

Vitamin B12 Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin involved in metabolism. One of eight B vitamins, it serves as a vital cofactor (biochemistry), cofactor in DNA synthesis and both fatty acid metabolism, fatty acid and amino a ...

shown as the key to the disease and the factor in

haematopoiesis Haematopoiesis (; ; also hematopoiesis in American English, sometimes h(a)emopoiesis) is the formation of blood cellular components. All cellular blood components are derived from haematopoietic stem cells. In a healthy adult human, roughly ten ...

. Nowadays sheep receive B12 supplements in the poor-pasture areas of the south coastal strip to manage cobalt and selenium deficiencies. Underwood's next research project was the beginning of a 30-year association with

Avondale Agricultural Research Station Avondale Agricultural Research Station or Avondale Discovery Farm is one of thirteen research farms and Station (Australian agriculture), stations operated by Western Australia's Department of Agriculture and Food (Western Australia), Department ...

, this study was into the effect of

sulfur Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...

on wool growth. This was followed investigations with

botulism Botulism is a rare and potentially fatal illness caused by botulinum toxin, which is produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum''. The disease begins with weakness, blurred vision, Fatigue (medical), feeling tired, and trouble speaking. ...

in sheep, results of which were published in the Journal of Agriculture. During the 1940s he studied the

nutritional value Nutritional value or nutritive value as part of food quality is the measure of a well-balanced ratio of the essential nutrients carbohydrates, fat, protein, minerals, and vitamins in items of food or diet concerning the nutrient requirements of ...

of hay and pasture for sheep, the ongoing results from these ''Studies in Cereal Hay production in Western Australia'' were published in the Journal of Agriculture.

Teaching

In 1946 Underwood was appointed

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of faculty and director of The University of Western Australia's Institute of Agriculture. Under Underwood, the Institute's teaching and research activities outstripped available resources, and he obtained support from

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

's Wool research fund. Underwood also presented a paper ''New Deal for Agriculture'' which secured additional funding from the University administration. This funding enabled additional staffing, and an increase in

postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

studies. As a lecturer, Underwood's logical presentation made the most complex information easy to understand.

Other activities

In 1940, Underwood published the review ''Nutrition Abstracts and Reviews'' which was later expanded and published as the book ''Trace Elements in Human and Animal Nutrition''. He revised and republished the book in 1962, 1971 and 1977. In 1966, he also published the book ''The Mineral Nutrition of Livestock''. From 1946 to 1959, Underwood was chairman of Tuberculosis Association of Western Australia, and from 1956-1958 he was also federal president of

National Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. Underwood joined the executive of

in 1966, writing many papers and giving lectures. Retiring from The University of Western Australia in 1970, Underwood continued on the executive of CSIRO until 1975.

Recognition

* 1954 Fellow of

Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soci ...

* 1958 Fellow of Australian Institute of Agricultural Science * 1962 Underwood Avenue,

Shenton Park, Western Australia Shenton Park is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Nedlands and City of Subiaco and west of the central business district. Its postcode is 6008. The suburb is named after the park that it contains, Shenton Park, ...

was named in his honor. * 1963

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

* 1967 awarded the Farrer Medal * 1967 Honorary Degree Rural Science from

University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 26,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 6,000 students See also * New England Coll ...

* 1969 Honorary Degree Science (Agriculture) University of Western Australia * 1970 Fellow of Australian Society of Animal Production * 1973

Macfarlane Burnet Medal and Lecture The Macfarlane Burnet Medal and Lecture is a biennial award given by the Australian Academy of Science to recognise outstanding scientific research in the biological sciences. It was established in 1971 and honours the memory of the Nobel laureat ...

of the

* 1976

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

It's an Honour
- Officer of the Order of Australia * 1980 Honorary Degree Science from the University of Wisconsin

References

* Primary source {{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Eric John University of Western Australia alumni Academic staff of the University of Western Australia Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Order of Australia Agriculture educators Australian agriculturalists People from Harlington, London Scientists from Perth, Western Australia 1905 births 1980 deaths People educated at Perth Modern School Farrer Medal recipients Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Fellows of the Royal Society