Dr. Selman Waksman (1888–1973) was a Ukrainian-born American biochemist and microbiologist whose pioneering research into soil microbes led to the discovery of streptomycin, the first effective antibiotic treatment for tuberculosis. He spent four decades as a professor at Rutgers University, where he and his team systematically screened soil actinomycetes for antimicrobial properties, ultimately earning him the 1952 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.