Ruth F. Allen

Who was Ruth F. Allen?

Ruth Florence Allen was an American plant pathologist. She increased the understanding of cytology of rust fungi, which are a chief cause of cereal diseases. These diseases can have a devastating effect on coffee, apple and pine trees.

Allen received a PhD from the University of Wisconsin in 1909, becoming the first woman to obtain a PhD in the Department of Botany. Over the course of her career she held positions at the University of Wisconsin, Michigan State College, Wellesley College and the US Department of Agriculture.

The American Phytopathological Society established the Ruth Allen Award in 1965 to honor "individuals who have made an outstanding, innovative research contribution that has changed, or has the potential to change, the direction of research in any field of plant pathology."