The Rowett Institute is a research centre for studies into food and nutrition, located in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, Scotland.

History

The institute was founded in 1913 when the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

and the North of Scotland College of Agriculture agreed that an "Institute for Research into Animal Nutrition" should be established in Scotland. The first director was

John Boyd Orr John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr, (23 September 1880 – 25 June 1971), styled Sir John Boyd Orr from 1935 to 1949, was a Scottish teacher, medical doctor, biologist, nutritional physiologist, politician, businessman and farmer who was awarde ...

, later to become Lord Boyd Orr, who moved from

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

to "the wilds of Aberdeenshire" in 1914. Orr drew up some plans for a nutrition research institute. Orr also donated £5000 for the building of a granite laboratory building at Craibstone, not far from the Bucksburn site of the Rowett. At the breakout of the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Orr left the institute, but returned in 1919 with a staff of four to begin work in the new laboratory. Orr continued to push for a new research institute and finally the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

agreed to pay half the costs but stipulated that the other half was to be found from other sources. The extra money was donated by Dr

John Quiller Rowett John Quiller Rowett (1876 – 1 October 1924) was a British businessman, philanthropist, and co-founder of the Rowett Research Institute. Shackleton A schoolfriend of Sir Ernest Shackleton at Dulwich College, Rowett was the sole financial back ...

, a businessman and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of a wine and spirits merchants in London. Rowett's donation allowed the purchase of 41 acres of land for the institute to be built on. Rowett also contributed £10,000 towards the cost of the buildings. The money was donated with one very important stipulation from Rowett—"if any work done at the institute on animal nutrition were found to have a bearing on human nutrition, the institute would be allowed to follow up this work." The institute was formally opened in 1922 by Queen Mary. In 1927, the Rowett was given £5000 to carry out an investigation to test whether health could be improved by the consumption of milk. After some further tests on other groups, a bill was passed in the House of Commons enabling local authorities in Scotland to provide cheap or free milk to all school children. It was soon applied in England too. This helped reduce the surplus of milk at the time and also helped rescue the milk industry which was in danger of collapsing. In 1936 Orr published Food, Health and Income, showing that the cost of a diet fulfilling basic nutritional requirements was beyond the means of half the British population and that 10 percent of the population was undernourished. Following on from this first study, the Carnegie survey (supported by the Carnegie UK Trust) began in 1937 and surveyed nearly 8000 people in 16 locations, the largest study attempted in the UK relating diet and health. War broke out just after the study was completed in 1939, but the results of the Carnegie survey were crucial to help implement a wartime food policy. On 1 July 2008 the institute merged with the

to become the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, College of Life Sciences and Medicine. In March 2016 the Rowett Institute relocated to a purpose-built building at the university's Medical School campus at Foresterhill, Aberdeen.

Notable alumni

Ainsley Iggo Ainsley Iggo FRS (2 August 1924 – 25 March 2012) was a New Zealand born neurophysiologist. Life He was born in Napier, New Zealand and studied at a farming college in Invercargill, where he won a bursary to study Agricultural Sciences at ...

, known for demonstrating electrical recording from individual C fibres in the human body. President of the

International Association for the Study of Pain The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) is an international learned society promoting research, education, and policies for the understanding, prevention, and treatment of pain. IASP was founded in 1973 under the leadership of ...

(IASP) (1981–84). * Peter Joseph Heald, known for his research on reproductive biochemistry. * Winifred Margaret Dean, prolific translator of German scientific texts into English. Strathcona House - geograph

Staff

* A. T. Phillipson Head of Physiology 1947 to 1963 and Depute Director from 1952. *

, Director from 1914 to 1945, recipient of A

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

for his research into nutrition and work as first Director-General of the

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

. * David Cutbertson, world leading authority on metabolism. Director from 1945 until 1965 * Kenneth Blaxter, Director from 1965 until 1982. * Asim K. Duttaroy, Professor at the institute from 1990 to 2001, currently Professor of clinical nutrition at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

. *

Richard Laurence Millington Synge Richard Laurence Millington Synge FRS FRSE FRIC FRSC MRIA (Liverpool, 28 October 1914 – Norwich, 18 August 1994) was a British biochemist, and shared the 1952 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the invention of partition chromatography with Arch ...

, researcher at the institute from 1948 to 1967, recipient of a

Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...

for the invention of partition chromatography.

External links

The Rowett Institute

Celebrating 100 years of the Rowett
{{authority control Agricultural research institutes in the United Kingdom Animal nutrition organizations Animal research institutes Educational institutions established in 1913 Food science institutes Nutritional science organizations Medical and health organisations based in Scotland Organisations based in Aberdeen Research institutes in Scotland 1913 establishments in Scotland Science and technology in Aberdeen University of Aberdeen