Robert Louis Sinsheimer

Source https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Sinsheimer

(Translation from German)

Robert Louis Sinsheimer , often referred to in academic literature as Robert L. Sinsheimer , (born February 5, 1920 in Washington, DC , † April 22, 2017 in Santa Barbara ) was an American biophysicist and molecular biologist . [1] [2]

Sinsheimer was born in Washington, DC. [1] [2] He attended secondary school in Chicago. [1] [2] From 1936 he studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology first chemical engineering. [2] He then but changed his major field of study toward quantitative biology and biotechnology. [2] He made his degree in 1941. [2] During the Second World War he joined the MIT Radiation Laboratory and developed aircraft radars. [2] After the war, he enrolled at the Biophysics Graduate School of MIT and received his doctorate there in 1949. [2]

MIT, Iowa State College and Cal Tech Sinsheimer initially took on a faculty position at MIT, but moved to Iowa State College in 1949 as a professor of biophysics . [1] In 1957, he moved in the same department as a professor of biophysics to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). [1] [2] From 1968 to 1977 he headed the of Biology Division at Caltech . [1] [2]

During this time he conducted studies on the physical and genetic properties of the bacteriophage Phi X 174. [1] In this work, he highlighted viral genetic processes. [1] Sinsheim and colleagues succeeded for the first time to isolate viral DNA, to clean and to replicate synthetically. [1] [2] The Phage Phi X 174 was an ideal model for these studies because it only had a single strand of DNA consisting of approximately 5500 nucleotides. [1] These nucleotides encode eleven genes. [1] In addition, samples of bacteriophage DNA could be easily extracted with this model. [1]

UC Santa Cruz In 1977 Sinsheimer left Caltech to become chancellor at the University of California, Santa Cruz . [1] [2] The position of the Chancellor offered him this possibility, risks and opportunities of recombinant DNA technologies and cloning with the company to clarify the dialog. [1] [2] He explicitly advocated science being accountable to society. [2] Furthermore, Sinsheim dedicated to the promotion of scientific competence and scientific understanding for non-scientists. [1] The first years at the University of Santa Cruz were particularly challenging. [1]During this time, this institution established itself again as a university of excellence under the constraints of tight educational budgets [2] in research and teaching. [1] Sinsheim could inter alia Keck Observatory [1] take into operation, programs for Agroecology [1] [2] , Applied Economics [1] [2] , for seismic studies [1] [2] and in the area of high energy physics [2] . Computer science was also established as a course of study under his leadership. [1] [2]

In May 1985, Sinsheimer organized a conference in Santa Cruz to investigate the possibilities of sequencing the entire human genome. [1] [2] The Human Genome Project was established on the basis of this preliminary work , [1] [2] which achieved its goal in 2000. Sinsheimer repeatedly raised the social and ethical implications of this project. [2]

UC Santa Barbara After his tenure at UC Santa Cruz, he moved to the biological faculty of the University of California in Santa Barbara in 1987 as a professor of molecular, cell and developmental biology . [2] He was succeeded by Robert Bocking Stevens . He retired in 1990, but remained active in laboratory research for many years. [2]

Sinsheim in 1965 in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences [3] and 1967 in the National Academy of Sciences added. In 1968 he was elected California Scientist of the Year . In 2001 he received the Presidential Medal from the University of California for his outstanding achievements in higher education. [2] The then president of the UC Richard C. Atkinson paid tribute to his achievements as a teacher, researcher, and in managing the campus of UC Santa Cruz and the initiation of the human genome project. [2]

Sinsheimer wrote more than 200 scientific articles. [1] [2] He published his biography “The Strands of a Life: The Science of DNA and the Art of Education” in 1994. [1] [ 1] 2]

Also see:

https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcr...

• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Jan 4 2017, 5:45:34 UTC

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https://news.ucsc.edu/2017/04/robert-sinsheimer-in-memoriam.html

Pioneering biologist Robert L. Sinsheimer dies at age 97
Sinsheimer served as chancellor of UC Santa Cruz from 1977 to 1987

April 24, 2017

By Tim Stephens

Robert L. Sinsheimer, an internationally acclaimed biologist and chancellor emeritus of the University of California, Santa Cruz, died on April 22 in Santa Barbara, California. He was 97.

As a scientist, Sinsheimer made significant breakthroughs in genetic research by artificially creating functional strands of DNA. He was also one of the first scientists to propose and seriously consider that a concerted effort be undertaken to sequence the human genome.

“Dr. Sinsheimer left an indelible mark on campus and in the greater scientific world,” UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal said. “He was a tireless advocate for UC Santa Cruz and was widely respected by the campus community.”

In 1985, Sinsheimer convened a group of eminent scientists at UC Santa Cruz to discuss the feasibility of sequencing the human genome. This historic workshop planted the idea for what eventually became the Human Genome Project, and UCSC scientists led by David Haussler ultimately played a crucial role in assembling the first human genome sequence in 2000.

Sinsheimer was also an outspoken advocate of science's accountability to society. As early as the mid-1960s, he came to realize that advances in genetics would have profound social consequences. When recombinant DNA technology arose in the 1970s, giving scientists the ability to splice together genetic material from different organisms, he used his position as an acknowledged authority in the field to warn of potential hazards. And when he proposed sequencing the human genome, he hoped at the same time to focus attention on the social and ethical concerns such a project would inevitably raise.

Sinsheimer served as chancellor of UC Santa Cruz from 1977 to 1987. He oversaw growth in academic programs and student enrollments at the campus during an era of tight educational budgets. A new undergraduate major in computer engineering was established, and graduate enrollments doubled from 350 to 700. New graduate programs and important new research activities were developed during his tenure, including major expansions in linguistics and high-energy physics and new research programs in seismology, agroecology, and applied economics. Sinsheimer was also involved in writing a new academic plan for the campus.

Sinsheimer's distinguished career as a teacher and administrator included nine years as chairman of the Division of Biology at the California Institute of Technology. After his tenure at UC Santa Cruz, Sinsheimer joined the faculty at UC Santa Barbara as a professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology. He retired in 1990, but remained active in laboratory research for many years.

In 2001, Sinsheimer received the University of California's Presidential Medal for his contributions to knowledge and to higher education. Then-UC President Richard C. Atkinson presented the medal at a ceremony during the UCSC Human Genome Symposium, noting the role Sinsheimer played in initiating the Human Genome Project, his achievements as a biologist, and his leadership of the UC Santa Cruz campus.

Sinsheimer was born in Washington, D.C., and attended high school in Chicago. In 1936, at the age of 16, he enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), intending to become a chemical engineer. Instead, he joined a new 5-year program leading to a combined S.B. and S.M. degree in quantitative biology and biological engineering, graduating in 1941. His intention to pursue graduate studies in biochemistry was interrupted by World War II, during which time he worked on aircraft radar as a staff member of the MIT Radiation Laboratory. Following the war he enrolled in the fledgling biophysics graduate program at MIT, earning his Ph.D. in 1949.

Sinsheimer taught briefly at MIT before moving to Iowa State College in 1949, where he was a professor of biophysics. In 1957, he accepted the post of professor of biophysics at Caltech, where he worked for the next 20 years before accepting the position of chancellor at UC Santa Cruz.

A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Sinsheimer received numerous awards and honors for his achievements. He was named California Scientist of the Year in 1968. He authored some 200 publications in his various areas of research interest, as well as an autobiography, The Strands of a Life: The Science of DNA and the Art of Education, published in 1994.

Sinsheimer was pre-deceased by his wife of 34 years, Karen Keeton Sinsheimer, who died in 2015. He is survived by three children from his former marriage to Joan Hirsh (edit Hirsch and b. 1922)—Roger Sinsheimer, Lois Wickstrom, and Kathy Sinsheimer; as well as five granddaughters—Erica Brand, Eileen Smith, Rachel Vandagriff, Jessica Sinsheimer, and Corinne Vandagriff—and four great-grandchildren, Kayla Brand, Allison Brand, Cassandra Smith, and Peyton Smith.