Signe Torborg Schmidt-Nielsen (, 1 December 1878 â 1959) was a Swedish-Norwegian physicist and nutritionist. She was the first woman to become a member of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters.
Signe Torborg Sturtzen-Becker was born on 1 December 1878 in Stockholm. Her parents were Vilhelm Teodor Patrik Sturzen-Becker (1841âÂÂ1910), the son of Swedish poet Oscar Patric Sturzen-Becker, and Astrid Sturzen-Becker (, 1848âÂÂ1908).
Sturtzen-Becker married chemist Sigval Schmidt-Nielsen [<nowiki/>, ] in 1907 in Stockholm. They had four children, including the physiologist Knut Schmidt-Nielsen (1915âÂÂ2007), who emigrated to America and worked at Duke University.
Schmidt-Nielsen studied for her PhD in physics at Stockholm University and was one of the first women in Sweden to receive a doctoral degree when she graduated in 1907. She was also the first woman to become a member of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters.
Schmidt-Nielsen collaborated with her husband in natural science research and publications, including into the rennet of calves and the vitamin content of herrings.
Schmidt-Nielsen died in 1959 in Stockholm. She was buried at , Trondheim, Norway.