Martin Kamen
Martin David Kamen (August 27, 1913,
Kamen was the first to use carbon-14 to study a biochemical system, and his work revolutionized biochemistry and molecular biology, enabling scientists to trace a wide variety of biological reactions and processes.
Early life and education
Kamen was born on August 27, 1913, in
Kamen received a
Career
From 1936 to 1944, Kamen worked at the Radiation laboratories at the University of California, Berkeley.[10] Kamen gained a research position in chemistry and nuclear physics under Ernest Lawrence by working without pay for six months, until he was hired to oversee the preparation and distribution of the cyclotron's products.[10][1] Kamen's major achievements during his time at Berkeley included the co-discovery of the synthesis of carbon-14 with Sam Ruben in 1940, and the confirmation that all of the oxygen released in photosynthesis comes from water, not carbon dioxide, in 1941.[1][3]
From 1941 to 1944, Kamen and others at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory worked on the Manhattan Project.[11]
In 1943, Kamen was assigned to Manhattan Project work at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where he worked briefly before returning to Berkeley.[12]
In spite of the fact that his scientific capabilities were unquestioned,
Kamen was unable to obtain another academic position until 1945 when he was hired by
In 1957, Kamen moved to
In 1961 Kamen joined the University of California, San Diego, where he founded a biochemistry group as part of the university's new department of chemistry.[1] Kamen remained at the University of California, San Diego, retiring from teaching (but not research) to become an emeritus professor in 1978.[14][5]Martin Kamen died August 31, 2002, at the age of 89 in Montecito (Santa Barbara), California.[9]
Research
Although carbon-14 was previously known, the discovery of the synthesis of carbon-14 occurred at Berkeley in 1940 when Kamen and Sam Ruben bombarded graphite in the cyclotron in hopes of producing a radioactive isotope of carbon that could be used as a tracer in investigating chemical reactions in photosynthesis. Their experiment resulted in production of carbon-14.[5][17][8] By bombarding matter with particles in the
Kamen confirmed in 1941 that all of the
Security risk controversy
Kamen came under long-term suspicion of espionage activity as a result of two incidents in 1944. He has described his experiences during this era in his autobiography, Radiant Science, Dark Politics. He first aroused suspicion while working at Oak Ridge.
After returning to Berkeley, Kamen met two Russian officials at a party given by his friend, the violinist
In addition,
In 1951 the
Awards and honors
Kamen was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1941.[27] He became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1958.[28] In 1962, Kamen was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences.[29] He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1974.[30]
Kamen became a Guggenheim Fellowship recipient in 1956 and again in 1972, in the field of Molecular and Cellular Biology.[31] Kamen was awarded the Charles F. Kettering Award for Excellence in Photosynthesis Research from the
Books
- Kamen, Martin D. (1947). Radioactive Tracers in Biology: An Introduction to Tracer Methodology (1st ed.). New York: Academic Press.[36][37]
- Kamen, Martin David (1963). Primary processes in photosynthesis. New York: Academic Press. ISBN 9781483274454.[38]
- Kamen, Martin D. (1964). A Tracer Experiment: Tracing Biochemical Reactions with Radioisotopes. New York: Holt Rinehart Winston.[39][40]
- Kamen, Martin David (1985). Radiant science, dark politics : a memoir of the nuclear age. Berkeley: University of California Press. Edwin M. McMillan.
Archival Collections
- Martin David Kamen Papers MSS 98. UC San Diego Library Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.
- Kamen, Martin, Vertical File, Bernard Becker Medical Library, Washington University in St. Louis.
- Martin David Kamen papers : ca. 1937-1945, Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley
References
- ^ .
- ^ ISBN 978-81-209-0496-5. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- ^ ISBN 978-94-017-9582-1. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- ^ a b Lytle, James (January 8, 1996). "Groundbreaking chemist receives Enrico Fermi Award". USC News. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Wright, Pierce (September 9, 2002). "Martin Kamen". The Guardian. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ "Martin David Kamen Papers". University of California, San Diego. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ a b "FERMI Martin D. Kamen, 1995 | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)". US Department of Energy. December 28, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ PMID 3090931.
- ^ a b Maugh, Thomas H (September 6, 2002). "Martin D. Kamen, 89; Scientist Who Discovered the Element Carbon-14". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ PMC 2988396.
- ^ a b The Shameful Years: Thirty Years of Soviet Espionage in the United States (PDF). U.S. Congress, House of Representatives, Committee on Un-American Activities. December 30, 1951. pp. 39–40. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Chang, Kenneth (September 5, 2002). "Martin D. Kamen, 89, a Discoverer of Radioactive Carbon-14". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-226-01794-5. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- ^ S2CID 235744943. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ a b "Albert Einstein World Award of Science 1989". November 8, 1989. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ "University of California: In Memoriam, 1987". University of California Regents. 1987. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- S2CID 5780582.
- ISBN 978-3-030-31688-4. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ "Carbon-14 discoverer who was harassed as communist". The Irish Times. September 21, 2002. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ Report of January 11, 1944, FBI Silvermaster File, serial 3378
- ^ a b "Register of Martin David Kamen Papers - MSS 0098". library.ucsd.edu. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- ^ "In Memoriam: Martin David Kamen Professor Emeritus of Chemistry UC San Diego 1913-2002". University of California Senate. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- JSTOR 793677. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ United States Congress House Committee on Un-American Activities (September 28, 1948). US House of Representatives, 80th Congress, Special Session, Committee on Un-American Activities, Report on Soviet Espionage Activities in Connection with the Atom Bomb. US Gov. Printing Office. pp. 181–182.
- ^ "Martin Kamen". Atomic Heritage Foundation. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- JSTOR 3478757. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ "APS Fellow Archive". American Physical Society. (search on year 1941 and institution University of California)
- ^ "Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ "Martin D. Kamen". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
- ^ "Martin D. Kamen". John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ "Charles F. Kettering Award". American Society of Plant Biologists. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ "ASBMB–Merck Award". American Society of Biological Chemists. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ Govindjee; Blankenship, Robert E. (2018). "Martin D. Kamen, Whose Discovery of 14 C Changed Plant Biology as Well as Archaeology" (PDF). Plantae.
- ^ "Nomination archive". The Nobel Prize. April 1, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
- ISSN 0036-8075.
- S2CID 33381222.
- S2CID 239836849. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- JSTOR 4441301.
- ISSN 0021-9584.