Nina Allen Papers now available for research

This blog post contributed by Emily Mandara.

The Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center is pleased to announce that the collection guide for the newly processed Nina Strömgren Allen Papers (MC 00495) is now available online. 

Dr. Nina Strömgren Allen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1935. She earned her B.S. in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin in 1957, her M.S. in 1970, and her Ph.D in 1973 in Plant Physiology from the University of Maryland at College Park. She served as a researcher and later trustee of the Executive Committee at the Marine Biological Laboratories in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, where she and her husband Robert Day Allen (1927-1986) co-developed and patented Video Microscopy (US Patent Number 4,412,246). Their method established an improved video system in microscopes for higher resolution viewing and better quality imaging, increasing the level of accuracy and detail scientists could achieve in research. The collection houses several materials that provide insight into the patent’s developmental process. 

Allen’s teaching career spanned across multiple institutions, beginning with the Biology Department at Dartmouth College (1975-1984), then the Botany Department at Wake Forest University (1984-1995). She began teaching for NC State University’s Department of Plant Biology (now Plant and Microbial Biology) in 1995, where she established the Cellular and Molecular Imaging Facility (1996) and served as Director of the Plant Biology Graduate Program. She also served as Chair of the Faculty Senate from 2005-2008. Allen retired from the University in 2008, becoming Professor Emeriti in 2009. Over the course of her career she has published several works in cellular and plant biology independently and alongside colleagues.

The collection comprises six series organized by subject and format. The first four are: Research and Teaching; Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program; Publications; and Personal and Professional Papers. The series contain research documents, course lectures, published works, experiment notes, and correspondence from throughout her career. The final two series, Audiovisual and Photographic Materials, comprise the bulk of the collection’s contents. These series contain a variety of multimedia materials which showcase Dr. Allen’s contributions to cell research and microscopy, including: photographs, slides, film negatives and reels, as well as VHS and U-Matic tapes, CDs, floppy disks, and a few curiously large Panasonic Optical Memory Discs. 

The collection also highlights Allen’s personal dedication to women’s equality. There are many materials ranging from personal notes and correspondence to professional conferences and course lectures that demonstrate Allen’s advocacy for gender equality, especially towards women in STEM. Particular materials from Dartmouth and Wake Forest University display strides she made enacting change and promoting education within collegiate communities. There are several correspondences with various faculty members about organizing events, as well as from attending events with the Association for Women in Science Triangle Chapter (Box: 51, Folder(s): 17, 19, 21-22, 25-26).

Notable subjects of Nina Strömgren Allen’s research include Nitella, a genus of the green algae species Characeae, and Acetabularia, a genus of the green algae species Polyphysaceae. Other recurring subjects include Fucus (a brown algae commonly known as “Rockweeds''), Alfalfa, as well as cell motility and the cytoskeleton. A large portion of this research has come out of her time at the Marine Biological Laboratories in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. She has credited the MBL as playing a pivotal role in her career, and has consistently returned as a summer researcher over several decades. 

For more information on Nina Strömgren Allen, the University has an oral history where she discusses her career and background in depth.

If you are interested in viewing the Nina Strömgren Allen Papers or any other Special Collections materials, please contact us at library_specialcollections@ncsu.edu or submit a request online. 

The Special Collections Research Center is open by appointment only. Appointments are available Monday–Friday, 9am–6pm and Saturday, 1pm–5pm. Requests for a Saturday appointment must be received no later than Tuesday of the same week.