Person

Plante, Enid Campbell (1918 - 2007)

Born
8 October 1918
Albury, New South Wales, Australia
Died
20 December 2007
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Chemist
Alternative Names
  • Toner, Enid (married name)

Summary

Enid Plante, during her brief career with the Council for Scientific and Instrial Research (CSIR), made major contributions to research on the flotation of sulfides and other minerals, the separation of the fungus ergot (Claviceps purpurea) from rye corn and the use of surface active agents in pesticides. In particular, working with Keith Sutherland, a method was devised to separate ergot from rye based on the different surface properties of fungus and host. For the first time Australia was self-sufficient in the production of this vital medicinal ingredient. Plante also worked on a variety of chemical and pesticides, including graphite ores, gypsum, and DDT, being left largely to her own devices. In all she published 13 papers, eight of them as sole author. On marrying in 1946 she was required to resign from CSIR.

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Details

Chronology

1940
Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Melbourne
1940 - 1946
Career position - Assistant Research Officer, CSIR Division of Industrial Chemistry
1946 - 1947
Career position - Researcher, Allergy Section, Alfred Hospital
1947
Education - Master of Science (MSc), University of Melbourne

Related Corporate Bodies

Related Cultural Objects

Archival resources

Private hands (Toner, E.)

  • Enid C. Plante - Records, 1940 - 1946; Private hands (Toner, E.). Details

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

  • McCarthy, Gavan; Morgan, Helen; Smith, Ailie; van den Bosch, Alan, Where are the Women in Australian Science?, Exhibition of the Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, First published 2003 with lists updated regulary edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, 2003, https://eoas.info/exhibitions/wisa/wisa.html. Details

Books

  • Plante, E. C.; and Sutherland, K. L., Separation of ergot from rye corn (Melbourne: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Division f Industrial Chemistry, 1943), 9 pp. Details
  • Plante, Enid C., Flotation of gypsum and silica from salt (Melbourne: CSIR Division of Industrial Chemistry, Physical Chemistry Section, 1944), 5 pp, http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/429591?index=1. Details

Journal Articles

  • McNamara, Nicole; Kopinathan, Anitha; Wolff, Helen; Spurling, Thomas H.; Simpson, Gregory; and Locock, Katherine E. S., 'Breaking down barriers: standing on the shoulders of Australia's early female chemists', Australian journal of chemistry, 76 (2) (2023), 63-73. https://www.publish.csiro.au/CH/pdf/CH22235. Details
  • Plante, E. C., 'Emulsions and emulsifying agents with special reference to D.D.T.', Australian Journal of Science, 8 (1946), 111-5. Details
  • Plante, E. C.; and Sutherland, K. L., 'The physical chemistry of flotation X: the separation of ergot from rye', Journal of physical chemistry, 48 (4) (1944), 203-23. https://doi.org/10.1021/j150436a008. Details
  • Plante, E. C.; and Sutherland, K. L., 'Effects of oxidation of sulphide minerals on their flotation properties', Technical publication American Institute Mining and Metallurgical Engineering 2297:1-29, 2297 (1948), 1-29. Details
  • Swift, J. D.; and Spurling, T. H., 'Enid C. Plante: Early Days at Fishermens Bend', Chemistry in Australia (1989), 230-231. Details

Resources

Resource Sections

See also

McCarthy, G.J. and Helen Cohn

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 28 September 2023

EOAS ID: biogs/P001453b.htm

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