January 9, 1998
byLinda McCandless
Geneva, NY - Dr. Willard B. Robinson, the retired director of
the Cornell University Institute of Food Science (CIFS), and the retired
chairman of the 
Department
of Food Science and Technology (FS&T) at the New York State Agricultural
Experiment Station, in Geneva, NY, died on Dec. 28.
Dr. Robinson established an international reputation in his career as a food chemist and enologist. He was also a gardener and a musician interested in politics. He is remembered very fondly as a good leader, an excellent researcher, and a "Renaissance man" in interests and accomplishments.
Dr. Robinson was born on April 19, 1918, in State College, Pa., the son of the late Clair and Helen Bancroft Robinson. He received his bachelor of science degree from Pennsylvania State University, and his master's degree and doctorate from the University of Illinois. He was named assistant professor, associate professor, and professor of chemistry at the Experiment Station in 1944, 1951, and 1955, respectively. He was named chairman of the Department of FS&T from 1967 until his retirement in 1982, and was appointed head of the Cornell Institute of Food Science in 1975. The Institute was established to help coordinate teaching, research and extension activities in food science on both the Ithaca and Geneva campuses. At the time of his retirement, in recognition of his service to agriculture, the Cornell trustees awarded him the title of professor emeritus.
Dr. Robinson was recognized nationally and internationally as an authority on nutrition and food safety. He was a member of a number of committees of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. He was a member of the Food and Nutrition Board of that organization, serving as chairman of the Committee on Food Chemicals Specification. He served on the Food Protection Committee of the National Research Council as its secretary and as a member of its subcommittees on food technology, artificial sweeteners, GRAS additives, and chemical use in food processing.
He was a member of the panel on saccharin of the Institute of Medicine of the National Research Council. As a consultant to the U.S. Interdepartmental Committee on Nutrition for National Development, he served as food technologist for nutrition surveys in Colombia, Bolivia, and Honduras. He also served as a food technology consultant in Bolivia for the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization of the United Nations.
Some of Dr. Robinson's most important contributions were on behalf of the grape and wine industry. While he was department chair, he hired Gil Stoewsand in 1967 to investigate a German study that labeled grapes as so "toxic" they promoted growth abnormalities in chickens. The study dispelled the notion of "toxic" grapes, and revealed the abnormalities to be the result of deficient chicken feed. Because of the study, confidence in the New York grape and wine industry was restored to commercial viability.
For two years, Dr. Robinson co-authored a regular column in the Geneva Times, "From Vine to Wine," with his daughter Robin Pulver. He also organized a Wine Industry Advisory Committee to serve as a means of exchanging technical information between Cornell faculty and the wineries. He organized wine seminars and workshops, and also helped organize the Eastern Section of the American Society of Enologists, where he served as its chairman. In1974, he was awarded the American Wine Society's Annual Award of Merit. He served as co-chairman of the annual New York State Fair wine tasting competition from its inception in 1978 until his retirement from the Experiment Station.
Dr. Robinson was especially fascinated by gladioli, a life-long hobby he first took up when he was 12 years old. Ever the researcher, he developed the color classification system used by the North American Gladiolus Society. Dr. Robinson was also a musician and a politician. He sang in his church choir and played the flute. He served as chairman of the Phelps Democratic Committee, and was a member of the school board of the Phelps Central School District.
He is survived by his wife Alice, five children, nine grandchildren, two siblings, and several nieces and nephews.
Click on photographs to view 300 dpi version.
Contact: Linda McCandless, Communications Services
Telephone: (315) 787-2417
e-mail: llm3@cornell.edu
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