In Memoriam | UC Davis Nutrition Department

Gaylord P. Whitlock

(In Memoriam) Cooperative Extension Specialist

Born in Mt. Vernon, Ill., on July 7, 1917, Whitlock was the oldest of four children. He put himself through Southern Illinois Normal College delivering bread, milking cows and picking peaches. He was a Navy weatherman in World War II and was shipwrecked off the coast of Alaska. He taught nutrition through the UC Davis extension office.

Frances J. Zeman, Ph.D., R.D.

(In Memoriam) Professor Emerita

Before she earned her doctorate in nutrition and dietetics from Ohio State University, Dr. Zeman worked as a dietitian for Cleveland City Hospital in Cleveland. She subsequently taught in the nutrition department at Kent State University. She came to UC Davis, in 1964. At UCD, Dr. Zeman, a Registered Dietitian, was a professor of dietetics and nutrition and was involved in years of research in her field of developmental nutrition and teratology. During her years at the university, she was invited to be a visiting scientist at the Dunn Nutrition Laboratory in Cambridge, England. She authored or co-authored more than 70 research papers and three textbooks, including "Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics” the premier text in the field during the 1980-90’s.

Helene Swenerton, Ph.D.

(In Memoriam) Cooperative Extension Specialist Emerita

In 1970, Dr. Swenerton joined the UC Davis Faculty as a Research Nutritionist, in association with renowned Professor Dr. Lucille Hurley. Together, they published what is now considered a classic series of research papers on the effects of zinc deficiency in the diet on mammalian fetal development. In 1972, Dr. Swenerton was appointed a UC Cooperative Extension Specialist in Nutrition, where she served the public with distinction for over 17 years.

Lucille S. Hurley, Ph.D.

(In Memoriam) Professor Emerita

Lucille S. Hurley was internationally acclaimed for her studies on the role of maternal nutrition in perinatal development. She was one of the first to recognize that the phenotypic expression of some deleterious genotopyes could be prevented by appropriate dietary manipulations. With her death in 1988, the scientific community lost an eminent scholar and member; present and future students lost an exceptional educator; and the public lost one of its more articulate advocates for the need to improve the diets of pregnant women in order to optimize the outcome of their pregnancies.

Fredric S. Hill, Ph.D.

(In Memoriam) Professor Emeritus

Professor Hill was a pioneer in the field of nutrition, one of the first to study the interaction of carbohydrates, fats and amino acids as energy sources in the body. He studied comparative nutrition, researching how different animal species utilize the major dietary components as energy sources. Hill's initial research focused on the nutritional requirements of poultry, including pioneering work on food composition as it relates to poultry production and growth. Dr. Hill served as the founding chair of the department of nutrition at UC Davis from 1967-1972. He also served as editor of the Journal of Nutrition, the official journal of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences.

William C. Weir, Ph.D.

(In Memoriam) Professor Emeritus, Department of Animal Science
Department Chair (1973-1981)

Dr. Weir joined the faculty of the Animal Husbandry Department at U.C.D. in 1948. Professor Weir had an exemplary record of service to the University: Dean of Students (1956, 1958-1965), including a period as Dean of Women; Chief-of-Party for the U.C.-University of Chile Cooperative Program (1970-1972); Chairman of the Department of Nutrition (1973-1981); Associate Director of the Small Ruminent C.R.S.P. (1981-1987); Associate Dean for International Programs for U.C.D. (1985-1990).

Judith S. Stern, Sc.D., R.D.

(In Memoriam) Distinguished Professor Emerita, Departments of Nutrition and Internal Medicine

Dr. Stern joined the UC Davis faculty in 1974. Her work on the metabolic and behavioral aspects of obesity flourished and she and many graduate students and postdoctoral fellows were well published. Over her distinguished career, she was awarded numerous national and international awards, including election as a fellow of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences and of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences.

Dr. Judith S. Stern Fund for Graduate Student Support

Elizabeth L. Prado, Ph.D.

(In Memoriam) Associate Professor
Associate Nutritionist in AES

Dr. Prado's research included the effect of nutrition on brain development in children; the effect of nutrition on cognition, mood, and caregiving in mothers; and the cross-cultural and cross-linguistic adaptation and validation of tests of motor, cognitive, and socio-emotional function in children and adults. Her research made a large impact on the on the field of maternal and child nutrition, early-life learning and development.

Lab Website

Charles E. Hess, Ph.D.

(In Memoriam) Dean Emeritus, College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences
Department Chair (2007-2009)

Dr. Hess was the Chair of the UC Davis Nutrition Department from 2007 to 2009. He also served as Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences from 1975 to 1989. In 1989 he was appointed by the President to be the Assistant Secretary of Science and Education in the USDA. He also had two presidential appointments to the National Science Board, the governing board of the National Science Foundation. Upon his return to campus in 1991, he served as the Director of International Programs and has served as a special assistant to the Provost and Chancellor.

Remembering Charley Hess

Andrew J. Clifford, Ph.D.

(In Memoriam) Distinguished Professor Emeritus

Dr. Clifford's research concerned the dynamic and kinetic behavior of nutrient metabolism as it occurs in vivo in humans. Nutrients of special interest include folate, vitamin E, β-carotene, lutein, and food (fruits/vegetables) components (flavonoids, isothiocyanates, catechins, sulfaraphanes, resveratrol). Foods rich in the above components protect against and hold promise for improved management of developmental, chronic, and degenerative diseases.