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Margaret di Menna

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Margaret di Menna
Born
Margaret Elaine di Menna

(1923-07-08)8 July 1923
Died24 March 2014(2014-03-24) (aged 90)
Hamilton, New Zealand
Alma materUniversity of Otago
Scientific career
FieldsMicrobiology
Thesis Yeasts of the human body, their nature and relationship  (1954)

Margaret Elaine di Menna ONZM (8 July 1923 – 24 March 2014) was a New Zealand microbiologist. In 1954 she became the first woman to gain a Doctor of Philosophy degree from a New Zealand university. Her doctoral thesis at the University of Otago was entitled Yeasts of the human body, their nature and relationship.[1] She had previously graduated with a MSc(Hons) from the same institution in 1948.[2]

In 1990, di Menna was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal,[3] and in the 1997 New Year Honours, she was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to microbiology.[4] In 2011, the reading room at Abbey College at the University of Otago was named in her honour.[5] She was a prominent member of Zonta International.[6]

She died in Hamilton in 2014.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Page, Dot (2012). "First of the few: an unsuitable degree for a woman?" (PDF). New Zealand Federation of University Women Canterbury Branch Newsletter (April): 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  2. ^ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961". Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  3. ^ Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 121. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
  4. ^ "New Year honours list 1997". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 1996. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Awards and achievements". www.agresearch.co.nz. AgResearch. April 2011. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  6. ^ "A Brief History of Prominent Zonta Member: Margaret Di Menna, Club of Hamilton-Waikato". Zonta International New Zealand. 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Dr Margaret di Menna obituary". The New Zealand Herald. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2014.