| 1 | Name: | Dr. Robert H. Burris | |
| Institution: | University of Wisconsin, Madison | ||
| Year Elected: | 1979 | ||
| Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 201. Molecular Biology and Biochemistry | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 1914 | ||
| Death Date: | May 11, 2010 | ||
For forty years Robert H. Burris was a professor in the University of Wisconsin's department of biochemistry. After receiving his B.S. in Chemistry from South Dakota State University, he arrived at Wisconsin in 1936 and completed a Ph.D. in bacteriology in 1940. He conducted penicillin studies and taught plant biochemistry prior to joining the biochemistry department as an assistant professor in 1944. Around this time he began his research on biological nitrogen fixation, work which would be of great importance to agriculture and humankind. Marked by imagination, painstaking analysis and innovative use of methodologies, many of which were of his own devising, Dr. Burris conducted studies using radioactive isotopes and mass spectrometers, working primarily on photosynthesis and respiratory enzymes in addition to biological nitrogen fixation. Between 1958 and 1970 Dr. Burris was chair of the department, training many doctoral and post-doctoral students and authoring hundreds of research papers. A member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, and former president of the American Society of Plant Physiologists, Dr. Burris retired from the University of Wisconsin in 1984. He continued to conduct research and publish scientific papers long past his retirement. He died on May 11, 2010, at age 96. | |||