Emīlija Gudriniece

Emīlija Gudriniece (; 3 August 1920 – 4 October 2004) was a Soviet and Latvian chemist who specialized in organic synthesis. She focused on the practical use of substances and synthesized furacilin, for which she won a state prize. She was one of the first to recognize the potential of using vegetable oils as biofuels and initiated the study of rapeseed oil refining in Latvia. She was a prolific publisher, edited the Latvian Journal of Chemistry, and published a Latvian language textbook on organic synthesis methods. She was awarded multiple prizes and recognition for her work.

Biography Gudriniece was born on 3 August 1920, in the Rēzekne district of Latvia. She grew up in the farming village of Kromoni in the Kaunata Parish and then went on to graduate from the University of Latvia in 1948 with a degree in chemical engineering. Gudriniece began her graduate work in 1949, finishing with her Candidacy Degree in Chemical Science (The Soviet degree, Candidate of Science, was the equivalent of the Western PhD and the reactivity of cyclic 1,3-diketones, publishing over 600 scientific reports on theoretical and synthetic chemistry of heterocyclic and 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds.) Her most recent work focused on studies of rapeseed oil in attempts to develop techniques for the separation of lipids and refining of rapeseed oil as an industry in Latvia. She was one of the first to recognize the application of vegetable oils for biofuels. She also served on the editorial board of the Latvian Journal of Chemistry and at the time of her death was coauthor of the only textbook in the Latvian language on organic synthesis methods. Gudriniece received many honors, including the Gustavs Vanags Prize for Chemistry in 1972, the Memorial Medal, election as an academician in the Latvian Academy of Sciences in 1978, Latvian Emeritus State Scientist in 1996, professor emeritus from the Riga Technical University in 2000, the Paul Walden Medal in 2000, and the Grindeks Award for her contributions to education in 2003.

She died on 4 October 2004, in Riga, Latvia.

Selected works