Harry Erwin Nursten (August 1927 – 20 December 2011) was a British

food chemist Food chemistry is the study of chemical processes and interactions of all biological and non-biological components of foods. The biological substances include such items as meat, poultry, lettuce, beer, milk as examples. It is similar to biochemi ...

, specialising in flavour chemistry at the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

Biography

Harry Erwin Nursten was born in Czechoslovakia in August 1927, son of Sergius Nursten and Helene. The family managed to escape to England shortly before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In the 1939 England and Wales Register the parents (“Nursem”) were living at Corringham Court, Golders Green; Sergius was listed as “Dental surgeon (seeking work).” The family settled in

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within ...

, Yorkshire, where Harry attended

Ilkley Grammar School Ilkley Grammar School (IGS) is a co-educational, state comprehensive secondary school in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England, that specialises in humanities and sciences. In 2011 it gained Academy (English school), academy status. History Early ...

and gained his Higher School Certificate in 1944. He went to the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

where he read colour chemistry and dyeing, followed by a PhD in colour chemistry, awarded in 1949. In the summer of that year Nursten was one of a group of volunteers harvesting at

Windlestone Hall Windlestone Hall is a mid-16th century Elizabethan country house, heavily rebuilt in 1821 to form a Greek revival stately home, situated near Rushyford, County Durham, England. The Hall sits within 400 acres of designed parkland. It is a Grade I ...

. Also there was Jean Frobisher, Harry's fellow student and bridge partner at Ilkley Grammar School, and now a welfare worker. They were married on 23 December 1950 at St Paul's Church,

Esholt Esholt is a village and former civil parish in the metropolitan district of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated east of Shipley town centre, south-west of the A65 in Guiseley, north of Bradford City Centre, and n ...

. After more research at Leeds, Nursten taught dyeing and textile chemistry at Nottingham Technical College. He returned to Leeds in 1955 as a lecturer in the Procter Department of Leather Science. Following two sabbaticals at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

and

UC 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 moved into the area of food and flavour science. In 1976, he was appointed Chair of Food Science at the

. Following the merger of the National College of Food Technology and the Department of Food Science, he became Head of Department of one of the biggest

Food Science 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 ...

Departments in the UK. In 1992, the year he retired, Nursten ensured that the

Hugh Macdonald Sinclair Hugh Macdonald Sinclair, FRCP (4 February 1910 – 22 June 1990) was a medical doctor and researcher into human nutrition. He is most widely known for claiming that what he called " diseases of civilization" such as coronary heart disease, canc ...

endowment was used to set up a new centre for human

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- ...

research at the

. Harry Nursten died in Reading on 20 December 2011. His wife, Jean Patricia Nursten, is a noted Professor of social work, and author.

Some publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nursten, Harry E. British chemists People educated at Ilkley Grammar School Academics of the University of Reading People from Ilkley Alumni of the University of Leeds Food chemists 1927 births 2011 deaths