Nevin S. Scrimshaw, pioneer in nutrition research, dies at 95
Institute Professor emeritus Nevin S. Scrimshaw, who founded MIT’s former Department of Nutrition and Food Science, died in Plymouth, N.H., on Friday, Feb. 8. He was 95 and died of congestive heart failure.Scrimshaw dedicated his career of almost seven decades to the alleviation of hunger and malnutrition. His work substantially improved the lives of millions of people around the globe — efforts for which he was recognized with the 1991 World Food Prize. The prize committee cited Scrimshaw “for his revolutionary accomplishments over six decades, in fighting protein, iodide, and iron deficiencies, developing nutritional supplements, educating generations of experts, and building support for continued advances in food quality around the world.” Scrimshaw came to MIT in 1961 as a professor of human nutrition. In 1974 he was selected for the Institute’s first James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award, and in 1976 he was appointed as an Institute Professor, a...