Netherlands' first female professor: Who is Johanna Westerdijk?
Johanna Westerdijk (1883-1961) rose to fame as a professor of plant pathology at Utrecht State University. Biologist and fungus expert Johanna thus became the first female professor in the Netherlands in 1917.
Before being assigned to the university, she was the director of a plant pathology laboratory in Amsterdam at the age of 23.
Johanna Westerdijk (4 January 1883 – 15 November 1961) was a Dutch plant pathologist and the first female professor in the Netherlands.
She was also responsible for the fungus collection at the Central Bureau of Fungal Cultures (CBS: Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures). She made great contributions to this collection reaching approximately 11 000 species.
Dutch Elm Disease
Thanks to her extensive knowledge of the fungus, Westerdijk pioneered the identification of Dutch elm disease, potato blight. She proved that the fungus keratocystic was responsible for elm disease. Thanks to its discovery, elm disease is still referred to by the name 'Holland'.
Female Professor
As the first female professor in her country, she made positive discrimination towards her fellows. She oversaw a dozen female students doing doctoral studies and prevented them from hanging onto glass ceilings.
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https://www.uu.nl/en/organisation/westerdijk-anniversary/who-was-johanna-westerdijk