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Mary Eileen Spencer was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. She studied chemistry at the University of Saskatchewan, then completed an MSc at Bryn Mawr College. She earned a PhD in agricultural chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1953, she began working at the University of Alberta as an assistant biochemistry professor, switching to the Department of Plant Science in 1963. Her research at UC Berkeley and the U of A focused on ethylene and its effect on plants and she became an international expert on this subject. Spencer became a professor emeritus of the University of Alberta in 1989.
Spencer received many awards for her work in plant science and was very involved in the field. She served on the National Research Council and the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. She was also a representative in the International Council of Scientific Unions and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. In 1976, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. She also received the CSPP Society Medal in 1991. Spencer received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver (1997), Golden (2002) and Diamond (2012) Jubilee Medals, as well as becoming a member of the Order of Canada in 2001.
Spencer was involved in the Canadian Society of Plant Physiologists (now the Canadian Society of Plant Biologists), serving as Western Regional Director (1964), Vice-president (1970), and President (1971). The Mary E. Spencer Award from the CSPP was established in 2018 in Spencer’s honour. It is awarded to a mid-career plant biology researcher for outstanding research and public service.
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Updated by A.A. on 22 Nov. 2022
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https://cspb-scbv.ca/Spencer-Award (accessed 22 Nov. 2022)
https://sites.ualberta.ca/ALUMNI/history/peoplep-z/90sumjoy.htm (accessed 22 Nov. 2022)
https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-7701 (accessed 22 Nov. 2022)