Dr. Emma Lou Bockman

Mar. 25, 1946 - Mar. 1, 1985

Emma Lou Bockman was born in 1946 to Wesley and Beulah (Wright) Bockman. She completed her elementary and secondary education in Winona Public Schools. Upon graduation from Winona High School in 1964, she entered the School of Education at the University of Missouri, Columbia. In just three years, she earned her bachelor's degree cum laude. She was then admitted to the graduate program of the Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, where she began her research program while mastering the content of the departmental courses. Upon earning her Ph.D. in Physiology in 1970, she continued her research development as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Physiology at The University of Virginia, Charlottesville. Following her education and work at the University of Virginia, she became a faculty member in the Department of Physiology, Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans.

In addition to teaching medical and graduate students, the position required her to continue her research and mentor students as they began their research careers. Emma published the results of her work from Missouri, Virginia, and Louisiana, as well as from her final position as Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology, at the Uniformed Services School of Medicine in the Washington, DC area. This work included regulation of energy stores and circulation in the heart, and the mechanism of control of blood flow in muscles and brain.

Emma's career was prematurely ended by cancer in 1985. The results of her work have continued, however. Researchers in her field continue to cite the studies she published and a Memorial Fund was established in her name by the University through the Henry M. Jackson Foundation. The fund has provided support for many students working there.

Reference to the Emma Bockman Award occurs in the curriculum vitae of many who are in research positions and/or practicing now. Notice of the fund states, "Dr. Bockman's exceptional abilities as an educator and researcher were recognized both within the university and in the scientific community. Her dedication to teaching was felt by all who were fortunate enough to experience her Socratic methods. In her memory, the Emma L. Bockman Memorial Fund annually rewards those who keep her academic ideals and search for knowledge alive."

The American Physiological Society paid Emma the following tribute, "She was known and respected by the research community in the field of metabolic control of blood flow, where her work contributed significantly to the understanding of blood flow to red versus white skeletal muscle types and blood flow in adipose tissue. All of us fortunate enough to have known Emma have had our lives enhanced, but in her memory we must attempt to keep her academic ideals and search for knowledge alive."

On the grounds of the Uniformed Services School of Medicine is a pink dogwood tree standing over a stone marker arranged by her colleagues. It recognizes Dr. Emma Bockman's contribution as teacher, researcher, and friend. Throughout her life, Emma remained proud of her background and the role Winona High School played in her early development.

Dr. Emma Lou Bockman was born March 25, 1946, in Winona, Missouri, the only daughter of William Wesley 'Wes' Bockman and Beulah Wright. She died March 1, 1985. She was survived by her mother, Mrs. Beulah Bockman, and two brothers, Dr. Dale Bockman and Gary Bockman.