Earl Evans (scientist)
Encyclopedia
Earl Alison Evans was the chairman of the biochemistry
department at the University of Chicago
for 30 years, during which time he pioneered several techniques whose use is now widespread.
In 1940 he collaborated with Louis Slotin
in using the university's cyclotron
to produce enough carbon-11 and carbon-14
for early studies in radiobiology
. This led to his demonstration that animal cells are capable of fixing carbon dioxide
to synthesize carbohydrate
s, a work which earned him both the 1941 Eli Lilly Award, and in 1942, the chairmanship of the department.
During the Second World War, Evans worked for the US Government developing new treatments for malaria
, and in 1947 he was named scientific attaché to the American Embassy in London.
He returned to Chicago in 1948 and began reconstructing the university's biochemistry department in the wake of the war. To this end, he hired several talented biochemists, including Elwood Jensen, Albert Lehninger, Eugene Kennedy
, Hans Gaffron
, and future Nobel Laureate Konrad Bloch. As part of the phage group
, Evans hired fellow members Lloyd Kosloff and Frank Putnam, with whom he established the use of bacteriophage
s and antibody
labeling for studying DNA.
Donald Steiner described Evans as an "excellent scientist", saying that his work was "groundbreaking".
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
department at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
for 30 years, during which time he pioneered several techniques whose use is now widespread.
In 1940 he collaborated with Louis Slotin
Louis Slotin
Louis Alexander Slotin was a Canadian physicist and chemist who took part in the Manhattan Project, the secret US program during World War II that developed the atomic bomb....
in using the university's cyclotron
Cyclotron
In technology, a cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator. In physics, the cyclotron frequency or gyrofrequency is the frequency of a charged particle moving perpendicularly to the direction of a uniform magnetic field, i.e. a magnetic field of constant magnitude and direction...
to produce enough carbon-11 and carbon-14
Carbon-14
Carbon-14, 14C, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with a nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and colleagues , to date archaeological, geological, and hydrogeological...
for early studies in radiobiology
Radiobiology
Radiobiology , as a field of clinical and basic medical sciences, originated from Leopold Freund's 1896 demonstration of the therapeutic treatment of a hairy mole using a new type of electromagnetic radiation called x-rays, which was discovered 1 year previously by the German physicist, Wilhelm...
. This led to his demonstration that animal cells are capable of fixing carbon dioxide
Carbon fixation
In biology, carbon fixation is the reduction of carbon dioxide to organic compounds by living organisms. The obvious example is photosynthesis. Carbon fixation requires both a source of energy such as sunlight, and an electron donor such as water. All life depends on fixed carbon. Organisms that...
to synthesize carbohydrate
Carbohydrate
A carbohydrate is an organic compound with the empirical formula ; that is, consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 . However, there are exceptions to this. One common example would be deoxyribose, a component of DNA, which has the empirical...
s, a work which earned him both the 1941 Eli Lilly Award, and in 1942, the chairmanship of the department.
During the Second World War, Evans worked for the US Government developing new treatments for malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, and in 1947 he was named scientific attaché to the American Embassy in London.
He returned to Chicago in 1948 and began reconstructing the university's biochemistry department in the wake of the war. To this end, he hired several talented biochemists, including Elwood Jensen, Albert Lehninger, Eugene Kennedy
Eugene Kennedy
Eugene Cullen Kennedy is an American psychologist, syndicated columnist, and a professor emeritus of Loyola University Chicago. He remained a professor of psychology at the university for several years...
, Hans Gaffron
Hans Gaffron
Dr. Hans Gaffron is born in Lima, Peru, on May 17, 1902, as the son of the German physician Eduard Gaffron and his wife Hedwig von Gevekot....
, and future Nobel Laureate Konrad Bloch. As part of the phage group
Phage group
The phage group was an informal network of biologists centered around Max Delbrück that contributed heavily to bacterial genetics and the origins of molecular biology in the mid-20th century. The phage group takes its name from bacteriophages, the bacteria-infecting viruses that group used as...
, Evans hired fellow members Lloyd Kosloff and Frank Putnam, with whom he established the use of bacteriophage
Bacteriophage
A bacteriophage is any one of a number of viruses that infect bacteria. They do this by injecting genetic material, which they carry enclosed in an outer protein capsid...
s and antibody
Antibody
An antibody, also known as an immunoglobulin, is a large Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique part of the foreign target, termed an antigen...
labeling for studying DNA.
Donald Steiner described Evans as an "excellent scientist", saying that his work was "groundbreaking".