DO YOU WANT ALL THIS “I” stuff I edited it out..

Rose Marie Pangborn, a reflection on the woman and the scientist

Rose Marie Pangborn was one of the early sensory pioneers. She, with Maynard
Amerine, David Peryam, Alina Szczesniak, Jean Caul, and others, changed sensory
evaluation from a cursory informal evaluation to a rigorous discipline now called sensory
science. The 1965 text, Principles of Sensory Evaluation, which she co-authored with
Maynard Amerine and Edward Roessler, was internationally used as “ bible” for
sensory evaluation methods. It served for 20 years as a reference and course text . Even
after other sensory books were written in the late 80’s, this book served as an in-depth
reference to those in the field.

Over her 34-year career, she published about 200 articles, book chapters, reports
and books. Many of these publications were the first to tackle a specific area or product
or technique, from examination of the role of salivary flow in human perception, the role
of obesity or nutritional status on perception or preference to initiating use the time-
intensity methodology. In 1978, she published an article in J. Food Science in 1978
which quietly presented two important xxxxx. In comparing the sweetness of sucrose
with non-nutritive sweeteners, she realized that carryover was occurring. Thus the paper
focused on use of time-intensity methods for comparing sweetness to avoid the carryover
effects and to characterize the temporal differences among the sweeteners. (This article
has been cited 94 times as of August 2000!).
In elegantly constructed studies she showed that salivary flow rate in humans is
not affected by visual stimulus. This finding, which contradicted the dogma associated
with Pavlov’s original work, was not easily published. To counter the arguments that
“this cannot be”, she had the original Pavlov article translated and found out that he
observed the dogs salivating, but did not quantify their response.

She was born Rosa Marie Valdes (which was changed to Rose Marie) in 1932 in
Las Cruces, New Mexico. At that time her father, Leo J., worked as a Ford salesman at
an agency that he would later own for about 50 years. RM inherited many of her father's
traits, including her ability to stay focused on the work at hand and to make friends. She
was a top student at her local high school, and a beauty queen of a local Cinco de Mayo
Parade. (Typical, of RM, this is NOT something she would tell you about). She received
a Bachelor's degree from New Mexico State University and, subsequently, a Masters
degree in Food Science from Iowa State University. Her Master’s thesis was on the
acceptability of fried chicken. (After her graduation, her husband, Jack Pangborn reports
that she never tasted or ate chicken again!). She arrived in Davis in 1955 to work with
Dr. Ellie Hinreiner, and in 1956 she married Jack Pangborn, who ran the electron
microcospy unit at UCD. She moved rapidly through the ranks and became a full
professor in 19… She was one of the founding members of the Association for
ChemoReception Science in 1979.
Her unerring high standards in research and academic principles brought respect
and praise from her peers worldwide. She received outstanding teaching awards from
University of California and the Institute of Food Technology. She was awarded an
Honorary Doctorate degree from the University of Helsinki and given the “Pioneer:
award by ASTM (American Society for Testing Materials). However, more important
than her contribution to sensory research was her dedication to teaching and to her
students who revered her for both her passion for science but for her zest for life. Einar
Risvik and Rose Marie always greated each other with a bear hug. This bear hug lives on
after her.
Those who knew RM, or RMP, as she was affectionately called by many of her
students and friends, remember her for more than her professionalism and scientific
contributions. She inspired a generation of students and colleagues. She was a mentor to
all sensory scientists who sought her opinion.
She had a wonderful sense of humor. Working in her laboratory was very
demanding, but also fun, because of her spontaneous humor. She loved to put on "South
of the Border" parties and compete with her guests in drinking Tequila with all the
trimmings: lemon, salt, and the whole ritual. According to Jack, she usually won because
she cheated.
Soon after ACHEMS was founded, it’s logo, a crocodile, became her own logo.
Her office was crowded with alligator and crocodile statues and items sent to her from
around the world. (She always said that this collection stemmed from her presentation at
an IFT short course in 1979 entitled: Physiological and psychological midadventures in
sensory measurment OR the Crocodiles are coming. (The latter phrase was a paraphrase
of the saying: When you are up to your ass in alligators, remember all you wanted to do
was drain the swamp).
She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1984. After multiple surgeries and
chemotherapy, she died in 1990. In her periods of remission, her research program was
the most vital it had ever been. Her commitment to teaching sensory science at the
University level was such that she and her husband Jack established the Sensory Science
Scholarship Fund in the late 1980’s. To date, this fund has awarded 12 scholarships to
PhD students in the field of sensory science. (The Scholarship Fund is in need of
contributions to continue these awards. For information contact HGH or)
During her last few months, she continued to write papers (12) from her
computer at home. Toward the end, her stamina would only permit 10 to 15 minute
sessions at a time, but she kept trying until she could no longer get out of bed. Talk about
focus and perseverance!
After her death, the friends she made during a sabbatical leave in Finland honored
Rose Marie and her contributions to sensory science by organizing the Rose Marie
Pangborn Memorial Symposium in 1992. This meeting which was the first symposium
devoted solely to human sensory science, was so stimulating that it became the first of
many. The second one was held in California in 1995 and the third in Norway in 1998.
The next one is scheduled in France in 2001 (http://www.Dijon.inra.fr/aromes/pangborn).