Lawrie Creamer

Lawrence Kenneth Creamer (23 October 1937 – 7 September 2019) was a New Zealand chemist specializing in milk protein chemistry. In 2004, he received the International Dairy Federation Award.

Early life and education Born in Christchurch on 23 October 1937, Creamer was the son of Gladys Henrietta Creamer (née Hopkins) and William Henry Creamer. He was educated at Christchurch Boys' High School, and went on to study chemistry at Canterbury University College, graduating Master of Science with second-class honours in 1961. He completed a PhD at the same institution, by then called the University of Canterbury, in 1963; the title of his doctoral thesis, supervised by Jack Vaughan and Alfred Fischer, was The Ladenburg rearrangement.

Research career Creamer joined the New Zealand Dairy Research Institute (DRI), later part of Fonterra, in Palmerston North in 1963, and between 1964 and 1966 he undertook protein research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. and won the society's Scott Medal in 1999, for pre-eminence in fundamental, strategic and applied New Zealand dairy science and technology. In 2004, Creamer received the world's top dairy honour, the International Dairy Federation Award, in recognition of his contributions to the dairy industry over more than 40 years.

Selected works

Death Creamer died in Wellington on 7 September 2019 at the age of 81.