Stob, Martin
Dates
- Existence: 1926 - 2014
Biographical Note
Purdue alumnus Martin Stob is best known for the various contributions he has made to the field of agriculture through his teaching career in the Department of Animal Sciences at Purdue University. He was born on February 20, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois, to Cornelius Stob and Theodora Sluis. He graduated from Downers Grove, IL High School and enrolled as a freshman in the Department of Animal Husbandry at Purdue in 1943. He completed two semesters at Purdue before enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1944 during the World War II. In 1946 he returned to Purdue to complete seven years of under-graduate and graduate education before embarking on a career in teaching and research in the Department of Animal Sciences. He received his BS, MS and PhD degrees from Purdue University in the years 1949, 1951 and 1953, respectively.
Stob launched his teaching career in 1952 in the Animal Sciences Department at Purdue. For 40 years, he taught the course “Animal Reproductive Physiology” at Purdue, teaching approximately 4,000 students. Stob was popular among his students and his classes were in high demand. Stob was named “Outstanding Teacher in the School of Agriculture” in 1964, 1966, 1969 and 1970, and “Outstanding Counselor in the School of Agriculture” in 1977. Selection limitations of these awards prevented additional recognition. He was one of twenty-four Purdue Teaching Faculty named to the “Iron Key” over a 60-year period. Furthermore, he was one of the 13 faculty members of Purdue whose names appeared in the 1975 edition of Outstanding Educators of America, a national awards volume. Those selected were being honored “for their exceptional academic accomplishments and contributions”.
In addition to his teaching and research responsibilities, Stob was also actively involved in many student organizations at Purdue. He served as a student advisor for the Rodeo Club, the Reamer Club, Student Senate, Block and Bridle and the Farmhouse Fraternity. He was also one of the faculty members of the distinguished Purdue chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society, and he was presented the “Best Counselor Award” in 1977 by the society, in recognition of his efforts taken to go above and beyond the regular duties of a counselor to help students in their academic concerns.
Pertinent to his individual academic endeavors, Stob was resolute in coming up with significant findings in his research work. He participated in research that measured the effects of both natural and administered hormones on carcass quality, growth, embryonic mortality and breeding efficiency of sheep, cattle, and swine. He has authored or co-authored close to fifty research papers and publications. Two significant contributions, both in the year 1965, include the patenting of their invention of an anabolic and estrogenic compound and a combined venture with Commercial Solvents Corp. to produce a new class of compounds claimed to be useful for a broad range of medical purposes.
Stob retired in 1992 after a long career in academia. His name was included under the list of names in the Book of Great Teachers in Purdue to celebrate his numerous contributions to the school. He passed on in 2014 and a memorial service was held at the St. John’s Episcopal Church.