Calvin , Melvin

Calvin , Melvin
(1911–1997) American chemist and biochemist
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Calvin studied chemistry at the Michigan College of Mining and Technology and gained his BS degree in 1931. After obtaining his PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1935 he spent two years at Manchester working with Michael Polanyi. Here he became interested in chlorophyll and its role in the photosynthetic process in plants. Calvin began a long association with the University of California at Berkeley in 1937. From 1941 to 1945 he worked on scientific problems connected with the war, including two years on the Manhattan Project (the atomic bomb).
In 1946 Calvin became director of the Bio-organic Division of the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory at Berkeley, where he used the new analytical techniques developed during the war – ion-exchange chromatography, paper chromatography, and radioisotopes – to investigate the ‘dark reactions’ of photosynthesis, i.e. those reactions that do not need the presence of light. Plant cells were allowed to absorb carbon dioxide labeled with the radioisotope carbon–14, then immersed at varying intervals in boiling alcohol so that the compounds they synthesized could be identified. In this way the cycle of photosynthetic reactions (known as the Calvin cycle) was elucidated and shown to be related in part to the familiar cycle of cell respiration. This work, which was collected in The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis (1957), earned Calvin the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1961.
Calvin remained at Berkeley, as director of the Laboratory of Chemical Biodynamics (1960–63), professor of molecular biology (1963–71), and professor of chemistry (1971). He continued to work on problems of photosynthesis (especially on the role of chlorophyll in quantum conversion) and on the evolution of photosynthesis.

Scientists. . 2011.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • CALVIN, MELVIN — (1912–1997), U.S. biochemist and Nobel Prize winner. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, to parents who had emigrated from Russia, he received his B.S. in chemistry in 1931 from the Michigan College of Mining and Technology   and his Ph.D. in chemistry… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Calvin,Melvin — Calvin, Melvin. 1911 1997. American chemist. He won a 1961 Nobel Prize for discovering the series of chemical reactions in photosynthesis. * * * …   Universalium

  • Calvin, Melvin — born April 8, 1911, St. Paul, Minn., U.S. died Jan. 8, 1997, Berkeley, Calif. U.S. biochemist. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He developed a system of using the radioactive isotope carbon 14 as a tracer element in his… …   Universalium

  • Calvin, Melvin — (b. 1912)    US biochemist and Nobel laureate, 1961. Calvin worked at the University of California on the chemical details of the process of photosynthesis, whereby green plants utilize carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and react with chlorophyl …   Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament

  • Calvin, Melvin — (b. 1912)    American biochemist. He worked at the University of California on the chemical details of photosynthesis. He used the Carbon 14 isotope as a research tool. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1961 …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • Calvin, Melvin — ► (1911 97) Químico estadounidense. Fue premio Nobel de Química en 1961 por sus investigaciones sobre la fotosíntesis. * * * (8 abr. 1911, St. Paul, Minn., EE.UU.–8 ene. 1997, Berkeley, Cal.). Bioquímico estadounidense. Obtuvo su Ph.D. en la… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Melvin Calvin — Born April 8, 1911 St. Paul, Minnesota, USA …   Wikipedia

  • Calvin — Calvin, Melvin * * * (as used in expressions) Bridges, Calvin Blackman Calvin, Melvin Coolidge, (John) Calvin Klein, Calvin (Richard) Ripken, Cal(vin Edwin), Jr …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • CALVIN (M.) — CALVIN MELVIN (1911 1997) Biochimiste américain dont les travaux ont renouvelé les connaissances relatives à la photosynthèse. Fils d’émigrés russes, Melvin Calvin obtient son diplôme de chimie en 1931 au Michigan College of Mining and Technology …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Calvin-Benson-Zyklus — Der Calvin Zyklus ist eine zyklische Folge von chemischen Umsetzungen, durch die Kohlenstoffdioxid (CO2) zu Glucose und Wasser reduziert wird. Er dient den meisten photoautotrophen und chemoautotrophen Lebewesen zur Assimilation von Kohlenstoff… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”