Laurens Anderson (May 19, 1920 – November 6, 2018) was an American biochemist. He was born on May 19, 1920, in South Dakota, to parents Adolf and Mary E. (Slaughter) Anderson. The family later moved to northeast Wyoming. Anderson's father died when he was eight, and he was later sent to live with an aunt in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, where he attended high school. Upon graduating at the age of fifteen, Anderson enrolled in normal school and taught for two years before enrolling at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

, where he joined the

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

. Anderson earned his bachelor's degree in 1942 and served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

between January 1943 and August 1945. Anderson returned to school in 1946, completing his doctorate in biochemistry at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

in 1950. Anderson's postdoctoral research took place overseas, in Zurich, Switzerland. He began teaching at his alma mater in 1951, and was appointed Steenbock Professor of Biomolecular Structure in 1981. Anderson held the professorship until retirement in October 1986, when he was granted emeritus status. Over the course of his career, Anderson won the

Claude S. Hudson Award Claude Silbert Hudson (January 26, 1881 – December 27, 1952) was an American chemist who is best known for his work in the area of carbohydrate chemistry. He is also the namesake of the Claude S. Hudson Award in Carbohydrate Chemistry given ...

(1984), and served as editor of the journal ''

Carbohydrate Research ''Carbohydrate Research'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research on the chemistry of carbohydrates. It is published by Elsevier and was established in 1965. The editor-in-chief is M. Carmen Galan (University of Bristol). According ...

''. He died on November 6, 2018, aged 98.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Laurens 1920 births 2018 deaths Scientists from South Dakota Scientists from Wyoming University of Wyoming alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty 20th-century American biochemists United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Academic journal editors