Nell I. Mondy, 83; Cornell Biochemist Was Expert on Potatoes

Nell I. Mondy, 83, a Cornell University biochemist who was considered an international expert on the potato, died Aug. 25 at Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca, N.Y., the university said. The cause of death was not announced.

Mondy was on Cornell’s faculty for more than 50 years. Her major research focus was the potato, which she considered to be a “food for the world.” Her 1987 proposal on potato marketing resulted in the formation of the National Potato Council research program.

In 2001 Mondy published her autobiography, “You Never Fail Until You Stop Trying: The Story of a Pioneer Woman Chemist.” Besides chronicling her challenges as a woman in science, the book recounts her efforts to improve food and nutrition worldwide, including India, Nigeria, Peru and Poland.

She was the author or co-author of more than 100 scientific publications, including the textbook “Experimental Food Chemistry.”

The only child of a young widow, Mondy was born in Pocahontas, Ark. She graduated from Ouachita Baptist University during World War II and earned her master’s degree from the University of Texas and her doctorate from Cornell. For many years she was the only woman in chemistry wherever she went.