| Authorised form of name | MacRobbie; Enid Anne Campbell; plant biophysicist |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Date of birth | 05 December 1931 |
| Place of death | Derbyshire, England |
| Date of death | 22 September 2024 |
| Occupation | Plant biophysicist |
| Research field | Biophysics |
| Plant biophysics |
| Activity | Education:
University of Edinburgh BSc (1953); PhD (1957)
Career:
Postdoctoral position, Institute of Biological Isotope Research, Copenhagen (1957); Research Fellowship at Girton College, University of Cambridge, working with Professor George Briggs in the Botany School (now Department of Plant Sciences) (1958); Fellow of Girton College (1958-1999) ; modernised Cambridge’s botanical courses to include more cell biology, biochemistry, and quantitative analysis (1960-1970); Personal Professorship (1987); Life Fellow of Girton College (1999-2024); Professor Emeritus of and sometime Reader in Plant Biophysics, formerly a University Lecturer in Botany.
Memberships:
Royal Society of Edinburgh 1998
Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences 1999 |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 14/03/1991 |
| Age at election | 59 |
| RSActivity | Royal Society roles:
Council: 1994-1996
Sectional Committee 9: Patterns in populations 1998-2001 |
| OtherInfo | Studied ion transport within plants. Her particular interest lay in stomata - the pores through which oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapour are exchanged between the plant and the surrounding environment. Enid's research has helped to explain how stomata close - to regulate gas intake and conserve water - through the loss of potassium ions from the guard cells that surround them.
Known for her early work with giant algae, determining the ionic compositions of both their cytoplasm and vacuoles, along with the fluxes of major ions across the plasma membrane and the membrane that surrounds the vacuole. This work provided the first application of isotope efflux analysis in plants.
The first woman scientist in Cambridge to be awarded a Personal Chair.
Encouraged women to enter scientific careers. |
| Source | The Royal Society Fellows Directory, Professor Enid MacRobbie FRS, [URL: https://royalsociety.org/people/enid-macrobbie-11862/; last accessed: 19/02/2025]
Girton College, University of Cambridge, International Women and Girls in Science Day, A pioneer in plant biology, 11 February 2025, [URL: https://www.girton.cam.ac.uk/news/macrobbie-pioneer-plant-biology; last accessed: 19/02/2025] |
| Code | NA3480 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| EC/1991/22 | MacRobbie, Enid Anne Campbell: certificate of election to the Royal Society | 1988 |
| IM/002913 | MacRobbie, Enid Anne Campbell | 1991 |