Special Collections Department
403 Parks Library
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-2140
MS 271
Bernice K. Watt
Papers, 1910-1984
Descriptive summary
| creator: | Watt, Bernice K. |
| title: | Papers |
| dates: | 1910-1984 |
| extent: | 1.26 linear ft. (4 document boxes) |
| collection number: | MS 271 |
| repository: | Archives for Women in Science and Engineering, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University. |
Administrative information
| access: | Open for research |
| publication rights: | Consult Head, Special Collections Department. Copyright of the family histories, "Kunerth Family in America" and "Theresa and Frank Starch" has been retained by the family. Permission to publish should be obtained from: Martha Gaines, 4209 Downing Street, Annandale, Virginia, 22003-2103, (703) 256-8672. |
| preferred citation: | Bernice K. Watt Papers, MS 271, Archives for Women in Science and Engineering, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library. |
Biographical note
Bernice Lydia Kunerth was born on June 10, 1910, in Ames, Iowa, where her father, William Kunerth, served as a physics professor at Iowa State College (precursor to Iowa State University). She had one younger sister named Ruth. In 1932, she graduated with a combined major in foods, nutrition, and chemistry from Iowa State College. The following year, she earned her Master of Science degree at Kansas State University. Until 1938, Kunerth remained in Manhattan, Kansas, where she served as a food/nutrition research technician and instructor. She then went to New York and acquired a Ph.D. in Nutrition Chemistry from Columbia University in 1940. After a brief stint as an assistant professor, Kunerth underwent a few changes that would prove lasting. She moved to Washington, D.C. to begin a career working for the United States Department of Agriculture in 1941 and married Raymond Dewey Watt, a 1922 graduate of Iowa State College, in 1942. Her career with the USDA entailed nutritional research. She retired in 1974 as Leader of the Nutrient Data Research Center. Under her leadership, the information available has grown from two tables containing data on 13 nutrients in 275 foods to 20 tables consisting of values for 50 nutrients and 3,000 foods. For her efforts, Watt has received some impressive honors: in 1969, the Distinguished Achievement Citation from Iowa State; in 1972, the Borden Award for fundamental nutrition and experimental foods; in 1974, the Distinguished Service Award from the USDA; and in 1980, the Elvehjem Award for Public Service in Nutrition. All of these scientific accomplishments coincided with her duties as a mother of three and volunteer work she performed in Fairfax, Virginia. She died on March 8, 1984. |
Collection description
The collection (1910-1984) contains documents from Watt's career as a food nutritionist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She spent her entire professional life working for the USDA and published over seventy journal articles that evaluate the nutritional context of over 3,000 foods. The data from her research are used as a standard of reference in not only the United States, but many areas of the world. Watt's dedication to science is proven by the number of the field's top awards she received during her career. Although Watt spent a considerable amount of time assisting her community and raising a family of five, this collection, for the most part, deals with her professional career. |
Organization
The Bernice K. Watt Papers are divided into four series: |
Description of series
| Series 1 | Biographical Documents |
1916-1989, n.d. |
| extent: | 9 folders |
|
| description: | The Biographical Documents series (1 box) contains various certificates, newspaper articles, and personal paraphernalia from Watt's life. The fourth folder, "Miscellaneous personal items," contains a hodge-podge of things. For example, a piano recital program, a bank statement, and college transcript. A list of her job descriptions appears in the seventh folder. Particularly helpful are the family histories on both her father and mother's side. Map case 3, drawer 11 contains an oversized folder that holds additional certificates and awards not found in Box 1. |
|
Container list
Box |
Folder |
Title |
Dates |
1 |
1 |
Stories written as an eight-year old |
1918 |
1 |
2 |
School report cards |
1916-1927 |
1 |
3 |
College English paper |
1932 |
1 |
4 |
Miscellaneous personal items |
1921-1984 |
1 |
5 |
Awards and certificates |
1931-1974, n.d. |
Map |
Case |
Oversized awards and certificates |
1923-1980 |
1 |
6 |
Newspaper recognition |
1930-1989 |
1 |
7 |
Job descriptions |
1957-1974, n.d. |
1 |
8 |
Kunerth (paternal) |
1983 |
2 |
1 |
Starch (maternal) |
1987 |
Description of series
| Series 2 | Correspondence |
1933-1984, n.d. |
| extent: | 15 Folders |
|
| description: | Major parts of the Correspondence series (1 box) include personal and professional letters. Much of it is congratulatory, which depicts the vast numbers of contacts and friends Watt made over her lifetime, but some is professional. Strong in the series are the letters she wrote and received from Kansas State University in the 1930s (Box 2, Folder 8) and correspondence from her father relating to German translations (Box 2, Folder 10). |
|
Container list
Box |
Folder |
Title |
Dates |
2 |
2 |
Personal: Borden Award |
1972 |
2 |
3 |
Personal: USDA Distinguished Service Award |
1974 |
2 |
4-5 |
Personal: Retirement |
1974-1975 |
2 |
6 |
Personal: Conrad A. Elvehjem Award |
1980 |
2 |
7 |
Personal: Miscellaneous |
1934-1984, n.d. |
2 |
8 |
Professional: Academic personnel matters |
1933-1939 |
2 |
9 |
Professional: Permanent employment position |
1942 |
2 |
10 |
Professional: Father |
1951 |
2 |
11 |
Professional: USDA Superior Service Citation |
1953 |
2 |
12 |
Professional: USDA Distinguished Service Award |
1974 |
2 |
13 |
Professional: National Dairy Council |
1963-1964 |
2 |
14 |
Professional: Lipid Metabolism Advisory Committee |
1976-1979 |
2 |
15 |
Professional: Who's Who of American Women |
1982 |
2 |
16 |
Professional: Miscellaneous |
1952-1974 |
Description of series
| Series 3 | Scientist |
1933-1974 |
| extent: | 9 Folders |
|
| description: | The Scientist series (1 box) has two subseries. "Student" contains Watt's Master's thesis, "The Utilization by Human Subjects of the Nitrogen of Beef Round and Beef Heart," and Ph.D. dissertation, "The Effect Upon Iron Utilization of Varying Calcium and Phosphorous within the Limits of Normal Dietaries." Her food nutritional research, in the form of journal articles, is located within the "Nutritional Research" subseries, as are some of the speeches she gave. However, eleven of the seventy articles she wrote are not found in this subseries. Moreover, this collection lacks material from her days as an instructor of food science. |
|
Container list
Box |
Folder |
Title |
Dates |
3 |
1 |
Master's thesis: "The Utilization by Human Subjects of the Nitrogen of Beef Round and Beef Heart" |
1933 |
3 |
2 |
Dissertation: "The Effect Upon Utilization of Varying Calcium and Phosphorous within the Limits of Normal Dietaries" |
1940 |
3 |
3 |
Student: Chemistry notebook |
ca. 1933 |
3 |
4 |
Professional nutritional research: Journal publications |
1933-1940 |
3 |
5 |
Professional nutritional research: Journal publications |
1940-1945 |
3 |
6 |
Professional nutritional research: Journal publications |
1948-1957 |
3 |
7 |
Professional nutritional research: Journal publications |
1959-1964 |
3 |
8 |
Professional nutritional research: Journal publications |
1965-1974 |
3 |
9 |
Professional nutritional research: Speeches |
1961-1974 |
Description of series
| Series 4 | Photographs |
1928-1983, n.d. |
| extent: | 4 Folders |
|
| description: | The last series, Photographs (1 Box), contains about forty pictures of Watt's parents, friends, and colleagues. Few pictures of her immediate family are located here, unfortunately. The majority of the photographs are of Watt, either alone or receiving an award. |
|
Container list
Box |
Folder |
Title |
Dates |
4 |
1 |
Collegiate years |
1928-ca. 1935, n.d. |
4 |
2 |
Family and miscellaneous |
1940-1959, n.d. |
4 |
3 |
Family and miscellaneous |
1960-1968, n.d. |
4 |
4 |
Family and miscellaneous |
1970-1983 |