Emmeline Moore

Emmeline Moore (April 29, 1872–September 12, 1963) was an American biologist known her various articles on fish diseases and for her pioneering work in conservation and combating water pollution. Moore supervised and edited fourteen watershed reports conducted in New York between 1926 and 1939 and these were the most comprehensive scientific surveys of any states' water resources.

Emmeline Moore was born in Batavia, New York, in 1872 and grew up on a farm there. In 1895, she graduated from Geneseo Normal School (now SUNY Geneseo).And following the path of many women born in the 1870s she taught at the normal schools in order to earn enough to go to college. She then enrolled at Cornell University, earning a B.A in 1905, followed by an M.A. at Wellesley College in 1906.After acquiring her masters she taught biology in normal schools for four years and then accepted a position of substitute professor of botany at Huguenot College in South Africa for a year. She then returned to the United States and this was followed by further study at Cornell, where she received her Ph.D. in 1916 in biology. From 1914-1919, Moore taught biology at Vassar College, eventually rising to the level of assistant professor. She also worked at the Bureau of Fisheries during summers which piqued her interest in research work.

Moore first worked as a research biologist in the New York Conservation Department and then as chief aquatic biologist and director of the New York State Biological Survey where she produced some of the best early state surveys of aquatic resources.She studied rivers, lake pollution and fish diseases while working with New York Conservation Department for the next twenty four years. Her research was extensive and accorded her with significant attention. She was the first woman to be elected as President of the American Fisheries Society. She also managed to publish technical papers on fish culture and fish diseases. After her retirement she continued research at Laboratory of Oceanography at Yale for a few years.

Emmeline Moore has been honored twice with the Walker Prize from the Boston Society of Natural History. She was also awarded an honorary degree from Hobart College. In her late eighties, she christened a New York oceanographic research ship named in her honor.

She died at a nursing home in Guilderland, New York at the age of 91 following an extended illness.

The American Fisheries Society established the Emmeline Moore Prize as a prestigious career achievement in order to accord recognition to AFS members who display a strong commitment to diversity issues and to those who encourage greater involvement of underrepresented groups in fisheries science, education, research or management.