Eric John Underwood AO,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established 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 A ...

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosoph ...

who pioneered research into

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals 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 domesticated ...

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient ...

and

wool Wool is the textile fibre 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 properties similar to animal wool. ...

production.

Personal life

Underwood was born in Harlington,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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 (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and established himself at Mount Barker. After a long period of correspondence James convinced a friend Kate Taysom to accompany the children to Fremantle 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 capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, and they had two daughters and two sons. Underwood died in Royal Perth Hospital 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 Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

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

Perth Modern School , motto_translation = Knowledge is Power , location = Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia , country = Australia , coordinates = , mapframe-stroke-colour = #C60C30 , mapframe-marker-co ...

, and returning to the Coorow property during school holidays. In 1924 Underwood commenced a cadetship with the Department of Agriculture 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, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

obtaining his

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

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

fellowship A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

funded by the Commonwealth at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

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

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...

'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 with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...

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

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, 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 with the 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. The free element, p ...

, 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. It is one of eight B vitamins. It is required by animals, which use it as a cofactor in DNA synthesis, in both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. ...

shown as the key to the disease and the factor in

haematopoiesis Haematopoiesis (, from Greek , 'blood' and 'to make'; also hematopoiesis in American English; sometimes also h(a)emopoiesis) is the formation of blood cellular components. All cellular blood components are derived from haematopoietic stem cell ...

. 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, this study was into the effect of sulfur on wool growth. This was followed investigations with

botulism Botulism is a rare and potentially fatal illness caused by a toxin produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum''. The disease begins with weakness, blurred vision, feeling tired, and trouble speaking. This may then be followed by weakne ...

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 t ...

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 Titles * ...

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'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 or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and ...

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. Underwood joined the executive of CSIRO 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 Soc ...

* 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 contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

* 1967 awarded the Farrer Medal * 1967 Honorary Degree Rural Science from University of New England * 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 AustraliaIt's an Honour
- Officer of the Order of Australia * 1980 Honorary Degree Science from the University of Wisconsin

References

* Primary sourcing {{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Eric John University of Western Australia alumni University of Western Australia faculty 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 People 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