Melvin Calvin

Melvin Calvin was born in St Paul, Minnesota on April 8, 1911. He was the son of Jewish emigrants from Russia. Growing up, Calvin was fascinated with chemistry. This early interest in chemistry led him to a major in chemistry at Michigan College of Mining and Technology. While attending graduate school at the University of Minnesota, he studied the electron affinity of various halogens. He completed his doctorate in chemistry in 1935. In 1937, Calvin became an instructor of chemistry at Berkeley in California. There his interest turned to general theoretical aspects of organic molecular structure and behavior. Calvin's career at Berkeley was briefly interrupted when he worked for four years on goverment science projects during World War II. He also worked on the Manhattan project that developed the atomic bomb. Melvin Calvin was married to Genevieve Jemtegard, the daughter of Norwegian emigrant parents. They had two daughters, Elvin and Katole, and one son, Noel.

Throughout his prestigious career, Calvin wrote over 500 scientific papers and was the author of seven books. In 1946, Melvin Calvin became the director of the bio-organic chemistry group in the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory at Berkeley. Calvin became interested in photosynthesis during his studies with Professor Michael Polany, and his work in photosynthesis earned him the 1961 Nobel Prize in chemistry. In addition to the Nobel Prize Calvin received six honorary degrees and many awards including the Sugar Research Foundation Prize, the Gold medal of the American Institute of Chemists and the National Medal of Science. Calvin was a member of many prestigious science organizations, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Academy of Sciences among them.

Calvin retired from his work at Berkeley in 1980. However, he continued his research for many years after. He died on January 8, 1997, at the age of 85 after several years of declining health.

(Adapted from the Internet sites)

6.2 Read the text to know more about photosynthesis.

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