Skip to main content

Frederick Rudolph biochemistry academic papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS 409
Finding aid note: Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Scope and Contents

The papers of biochemist and cell biologist Frederick (Fred) Rudolph (1944-2003) document his 31 years on the faculty of Rice University and his tenure as director of Rice's Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering. Topics include Rudolph's research, grant projects, patents, courses taught, departmental administration, and committee service. Formats include reports, notes, charts, correspondence, slides, and photographs. Rudolph's work led to the discovery that several key nucleotides needed by infants for healthy immune function were missing from standard baby formula, leading every major producer of baby formula to add those ingredients.

Dates

  • 1969-2002

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This material is open for research. Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish from this material must be facilitated through the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.

Biographical / Historical

Frederick B. Rudolph was a ground-breaking researcher and a devoted educator in biochemistry who was hired to teach at Rice University in 1972. He died in the midst of his customary activities at the university in 2003 at the age of 58.

Fred Rudolph’s most far-reaching research concerned the enzyme adenosine desminase. It was reported in the June 2, 1991 issue of the journal Science. Working with two colleagues, Rudolph found that an immune deficiency occurred when this enzyme, normally present in all body cells, was missing from B and T lymphocytes, cells of the immune system located in the blood, spleen, and thymus. One important outcome of this discovery is that it led every major producer of infant formula worldwide to add what the work showed is necessary for development of a strong immune system.

As an educator, Fred Rudolph was not only an effective teacher of his own courses, but also a leader in curriculum development nationally. For multiple years he was involved as a workshop leader in Project Kaleidoscope, an informal national alliance of individual institutions and organizations committed to strengthening undergraduate science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education.

He was also a participant in numerous inter-institutional activities with the Texas Medical Center, among them the Rice-Baylor College of Medicine Planning Committee, which sponsored a pathway for qualified students to be admitted to Baylor College of Medicine after successful completion of a specified sequence of Rice courses.

Rudolph’s efforts as an educator also reached out to pre-college-age young people. He established short summer residential programs offered at Rice to students in economically disadvantaged schools, both in Houston and in the Rio Grande Valley. The aim of these programs was to expose young people to the activity of laboratory research and to career possibilities in science and medicine.

In addition to work in his academic discipline, Rudolph made important contributions to the institutional life of Rice. He was a member and then chair of the Admissions and Financial Aid Committee for more than two decades.

Extent

35 Linear Feet (35 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

The papers of biochemist and cell biologist Frederick (Fred) Rudolph (1944-2003) document his 31 years on the faculty of Rice University and his tenure as director of Rice's Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering. Topics include Rudolph's research, grant projects, patents, courses taught, departmental administration, and committee service. Formats include reports, notes, charts, correspondence, slides, and photographs. Rudolph's work led to the discovery that several key nucleotides needed by infants for healthy immune function were missing from standard baby formula, leading every major producer of baby formula to add those ingredients.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transfered by University Historian, Melissa Kean, April 20, 2004.

Processing Information

This material has been sorted into series groups, but has not been arranged into order with the series, and has not been fully refoldered.

Subjects

Record Groups

Related Names

Creator

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Frederick Rudolph biochemistry academic papers, 1969-2002
Status
Completed
Author
Mary Tobin and WRC staff
Date
2015
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

https://library.rice.edu/woodson
Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA

Broaden your search:
Texas Archival Resources Online - statewide search of archival finding aids
ArchiveGrid - international search of archival finding aids
Scholarship.rice.edu - Rice University digital content

Harmful Content Statement
© 2023 Woodson Research Center
Fondren Library, Rice University
Physical Address: 6100 Main, Houston, Texas 77005-1827
Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892