1965]

J O H N S. NIEDERHAUSER HONORED

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his experience with the Central Andean potatoes, and he has spent study leaves at Cambridge, England and at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. Dr. Cardenas is the first Latin American scientist to be honored by election to Life Membership in the Potato Association of America. It is not only a well-deserved honor at the culmination of his brilliant career as a scientist and a teacher, but is perhaps symbolic of the gradual and important strengthening of ties amongst those interested in the culture of potatoes throughout the Americas. - - J o h n S. Niederhauser

DR. J O H N S. N I E D E R H A U S E R

HONORED

John S. Niederhauser was born in 1916 in the San Frmlcisco bay area of California. H e initiated his higher education in the school of hard

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[Vol. 42

knocks by taking a trip to Europe when he was about 16. Although funds were limited John hoped to supplement them by working his way. So. by hitchhiking, often sleeping on the ground and working his way overseas on a cattleboat, he managed to get to Berlin in time to see tile Olympic games in 1932 just as Hitler was becoming established. Soon after this he was in Moscow where he found laimself in a park in which there was set up a kind of "science zoo." Experts in various fields sat in little booths with exhibits which they were prepared to explain. \Vhile looking at the plant breeding exhibit, he asked the attendant some questions in English. The answers were in perfect English and the attendant then began asking him some questions. He explained that he was a tourist from the U.S.A. but would soon have to leave because funds were running out. The attendant then suggested that he apply for a joh on a farm in the Ukraine and added: " H e r e ' s my card. Yon can use my name." The name on the card was N. J. Vavilov. John got the job. Later Vavilov offered him an assistantship at Moscow University but he thought he would rather come back and enter Cornell University, wlnich he did. H e obtained his B.S. in 1939 and went on in Cornell for his Ph.D. which he took in 1943. F r o m 1945-7 h e w a s Assistant Professor at Cornell. During the summer months from 1939 to 1944 he worked as a seed potato inspector. In 1947 he joined the Rockefeller Foundation and went to Mexico. His headquarters has been Mexico C{ty since then. Here, besides his scientific pursuits he has promoted little league baseball and through two marriages has acquired 7 children, almost enough for his own ball team. H e demonstrated that it was possible to grow potatoes in Mexico during the rainy season if they were very well sprayed. The growers appear to have accepted his teaching for in the ten years from 1953 to 1963 the acreage of potatoes in Mexico increased 63%, the yield per acre 5454 and the total production 142%. Yields are still low hut the trends are all up and there is room in the market for more potatoes. Johnny is sill with the Rockefeller Fotmdation but his field of interest and area of activity have both expanded as he is now in charge of their International Food Crop Improvement project as well as their International Potato Improvement Program. Dr. Nieclerhauser has published at least 49 papers dealing with subjects as diverse as varietal susceptibility to apple rust, a hacterial disease of Russian dandelion, corn stunt, bean diseases, mint rust and potato varieties. Most of his publications deal with potato late blight or the fungus cansing it. I am afraid my rambling remarks have led us rather far from our central purpose which is, to present Dr. John S. Niederhauser for Honorary Life Membership in the Potato Association of America and this I now do. - - K a r l H. Ferno~