Margaret di Menna
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8 July 1923
Margaret di Menna | |
|---|---|
| Born | Margaret Elaine di Menna 8 July 1923 Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 24 March 2014 (aged 90) Hamilton, New Zealand |
| Alma mater | University of Otago |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Microbiology |
| 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]
