Melvin Calvin

Melvin Calvin
Born	Melvin Ellis Calvin April 8, 1911 St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Died	January 8, 1997 (aged 85) Berkeley, California, USA
Nationality	United States
Fields	Chemistry · Biology
Institutions	University of Manchester University of California, Berkeley Berkeley Radiation Laboratory Science Advisory Committee
Alma mater	Michigan College of Mining and Technology University of Minnesota
Academic advisors	Michael Polanyi
Doctoral students	Cyril Ponnamperuma[1]
Known for	Calvin cycle
Notable awards	Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1961) Davy Medal (1964) Priestley Medal (1978) AIC Gold Medal (1979) National Medal of Science (1989)[2]
Spouse	Genevieve Elle Jemtegaard (m. 1942; 3 children) (d.1987)

Melvin Ellis Calvin (April 8, 1911 – January 8, 1997)^[3] was a Jewish American biochemist most famed for discovering the Calvin cycle along with Andrew Benson and James Bassham, for which he was awarded the 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He spent most of his five-decade career at the University of California, Berkeley.

Life

Calvin was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Elias Calvin and Rose Herwitz,^[4] Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire. His father was born in Lithuania (then part of the Russian Empire) and his mother in Georgia (also part of the Russian Empire).

As a small child Calvin's family moved to Detroit; he graduated from Central High School in 1928.^[5] Melvin Calvin earned his Bachelor of Science from the Michigan College of Mining and Technology (now known as Michigan Technological University) in 1931 and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 1935. He then spent the next four years doing postdoctoral work at the University of Manchester. He married Marie Genevieve Jemtegaard in 1942,^[4] and they had three children, two daughters and a son.

Calvin joined the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley in 1937 and was promoted to Professor of Chemistry in 1947. Using the carbon-14 isotope as a tracer, Calvin, Andrew Benson and James Bassham mapped the complete route that carbon travels through a plant during photosynthesis, starting from its absorption as atmospheric carbon dioxide to its conversion into carbohydrates and other organic compounds.^[6][7] In doing so, Calvin, Benson and Bassham showed that sunlight acts on the chlorophyll in a plant to fuel the manufacturing of organic compounds, rather than on carbon dioxide as was previously believed. Calvin was the sole recipient of the 1961 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for what is sometimes known as the Calvin-Benson-Bassham Cycle. Calvin wrote an autobiography three decades later titled Following the Trail of Light: A Scientific Odyssey.^[8] During the 1950s he was among the first members of the Society for General Systems Research. In 1963 he was given the additional title of Professor of Molecular Biology. He was founder and Director of the Laboratory of Chemical Biodynamics and simultaneously Associate Director of Berkeley Radiation Laboratory, where he conducted much of his research until his retirement in 1980. In his final years of active research, he studied the use of oil-producing plants as renewable sources of energy. He also spent many years testing the chemical evolution of life and wrote a book on the subject that was published in 1969.^[9]

Controversy

In his 2011 television history of Botany for the BBC, Timothy Walker, Director of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden, criticised Calvin's treatment of Andrew Benson, claiming that Calvin had got the credit for Benson's work after firing him, and had failed to mention Benson's role when writing his autobiography decades later.^[10] Benson himself has also mentioned being fired by Calvin, and has complained about not being mentioned in his autobiography.^[11]

Legacy

Calvin was featured on the 2011 volume of the American Scientists collection of US postage stamps, along with Asa Gray, Maria Goeppert-Mayer, and Severo Ochoa. This was the third volume in the series, the first two having been released in 2005 and 2008.

Publications

• Calvin, M. and A. A. Benson."The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (March 8, 1948).
• Stepka, W., Benson, A. A., and M. Calvin. "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis II. Amino Acids", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (May 25, 1948).
• Benson, A. A. and M. Calvin. "Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis III.", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (June 1, 1948).
• Calvin, M. and A. A. Benson "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis IV. The Identity and Sequence of the Intermediates in Sucrose Synthesis.", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (December 14, 1948).
• Benson, A. A., Bassham, J. A., Calvin, M., Goodale, T. C., Haas, V. A. and W. Stepka. "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis V. Paper Chromatography and Radioautography of the Products.", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (June 13, 1949).
• Calvin, M. "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis VI.", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (June 30, 1949).
• Benson, A. A. and M. Calvin. "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis VII. Respiration and Photosynthesis.", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (July 21, 1949).
• Bassham, J. A., Benson, A. A. and M. Calvin. "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis VIII. The Role of Malic Acid.", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (January 25, 1950).
• Badin, E. J.and M. Calvin. "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis IX. Photosynthesis, Photoreduction, and the Hydrogen-Oxygen-Carbon Dioxide Dark Reaction.", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (February 1, 1950).
• Calvin, M., Bassham, J. A., Benson, A. A., Lynch, V., Ouellet, C., Schou, L., Stepka, W. and N. E. Tolbert. "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis X. Carbon Dioxide Assimilation in Plants.", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (April 1, 1950).
• Schou, L., Benson, A. A., Bassham, J. A. and M. Calvin. "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis XI. The Role of Glycolic Acid.", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (September 11, 1950).
• Calvin, M., Bassham, J. A., Benson, A. A., Kawaguchi, S., Lynch, V. H., Stepka, W. and N. E. Tolbert. " The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis XIV.", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (June 30, 1951).
• Benson, A. A., Bassham, J. A., Calvin, M., Hall, A. G., Hirsch, H., Kawaguchi, S., Lynch, V. and N. E. Tolbert. "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis XV. Ribulose and Sedoheptulose.", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (January 1952).
• Benson, A. A., Kawaguchi, S., Hayes, P. and M. Calvin. "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis XVI. Kinetic Relationships of the Intermediates in Steady State Photosynthesis.", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (June 5, 1952).
• Buchanan, J. G., Bassham, J. A., Benson, A. A., Bradley, D. F., Calvin, M., Daus, L. L., Goodman, M., Hayes, P. M., Lynch, V. H., Norris, L. T. and A. T. Wilson. "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis XVII. Phosphorus Compounds as Intermediates in Photosynthesis.", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (July 8, 1952).
• Buchanan, J. G., Lynch, V. H., Benson, A. A., Calvin, M. and D. F. Bradley. "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis XVIII. The Identification of Nucleotide Coenzymes.", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (January 19, 1953).
• Calvin, M. and P. Massini. "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis XX. The Steady State.", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (September 1952).
• Calvin, M. "Photosynthesis: The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis and the Primary Quantum Conversion Act of Photosynthesis.", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (November 22, 1952).
• Bassham, J. A., Benson, A. A., Kay, L. D. Harris, A. Z., Wilson, A. T. and Calvin, M. "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis XXI. The Cyclic Regeneration of Carbon Dioxide Acceptor.", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (October 1, 1953).
• Bassham, J. A. and M. Calvin. "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Lawrence Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (October 1960).
• Calvin, M. "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis (Nobel Prize Lecture).", Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory-Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission), (December 11, 1961).

See also

• List of Jewish Nobel laureates

References

1. http://www.sacgalle.sch.lk/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27&Itemid=31
2. National Science Foundation – The President's National Medal of Science
3. Seaborg, G. T.; Benson, A. A. (2008). "Melvin Calvin. 8 April 1911 -- 8 January 1997". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 54: 59. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2007.0050.
4. http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp1.pdf
5. http://www.bookrags.com/biography/melvin-calvin/
6. CALVIN, M (1956). "[The photosynthetic cycle.]". Bull. Soc. Chim. Biol. 38 (11) (December 7, 1956). pp. 1233–44. PMID 13383309
7. BARKER, S A; BASSHAM, J A; CALVIN, M; QUARCK, U C (1956). "Intermediates in the photosynthetic cycle". Biochim. Biophys. Acta 21 (2) (Aug 1956). pp. 376–7. doi:10.1016/0006-3002(56)90022-1. PMID 13363921
8. Calvin, Melvin (1992). Following the Trail of Light: A Scientific Odyssey (Profiles, Pathways & Dreams) . Wiley VCH. ISBN 0-8412-1828-5.
9. Calvin, Melvin. Chemical evolution: molecular evolution towards the origin of living systems on the earth and elsewhere. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969. ISBN 0-19-855342-0.
10. Walker, Timothy (2011). "Botany: A Blooming History". BBC Four. BBC, UK. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
11. Interview conducted by Bob B. Buchanan, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego (June 26–27, 2012). "Interview Transcript – A Conversation with Andrew Benson – "Reflections on the Discovery of the Calvin-Benson Cycle"" (PDF). University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved June 17, 2014. Page 25 – (24:51) BUCHANAN: So, would you use the word “fired?” (24:54) BENSON: Yeah. ... Page 30 – (30:04) BENSON: ... He published a book, an autobiography, Following the Trail of Light, which is a fantastic – a beautiful title for what it was about. It makes the whole volume about him getting a Nobel Prize, no mention of Benson at all in that book. And he didn’t have to do that. He could have done it right. And finally, one of his last publications he mentioned – Dr. Benson and some graduate students were involved – but just briefly mentioned. line feed character in |quote= at position 73 (help)

External links

• Biography and Bibliographic Resources, from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, United States Department of Energy
• Nobel speech and biographmems/mcalvin.html Tribute by Glenn Seaborg and Andrew Benson
• Research on the carbon dioxide assimilation in plants at the Wayback Machine (archived February 22, 2007)
• Biographical memoir by Glenn Seaborg and Andrew Benson
• U.S. Patent 4427511 Melvin Calvin – Photo-induced electron transfer method
• Encyclopædia Britannica article
• USPS News Release: Celebrating American Scientists Press release for the new Forever Stamp designs featuring Melvin Calvin.
• National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir