KLUYVER AS PROFESSOR 

 CHRONICLES OF THE LABORATORY 



PREPARATION 



1922 



When, in December, 1921, Kluyver first set foot in his laboratory as 

 professor, it was still permeated with the spirit of his great predecessor. 

 'Beijerinck', said Kluyver in a 1927 speech, 'was the image of unbridled 

 devotion, nay, utter submission, to research and science which imme- 

 diately spoke to the minds of the students.' But, apart from respect, 

 that scientist also aroused in his pupils, at least initially, a feeling of 

 awe. When he approached, all discussion stopped. What would be 

 the first thing he would harp on: some minor detail that displeased 

 him about an investigation that was obviously advancing rather slug- 

 gishly; or, more trivial though just as frequently, any faint indication 

 of a generally abhorred sloppiness, or the equally detested smell of 

 lingering cigarette smoke? The attitude was coupled with a somewhat 

 uncouth manner of speech ; the tone was often uncomfortably direct. 

 However, his successor would soon realize how long and how strongly 

 that influence could make itself felt, even after the departure of this 

 curious personage. 



Kluyver found himself facing an immense task. The fact that he had 

 been chosen to occupy this world-renowned chair was generally re- 

 garded as the result of a willingness to make a credit appointment. He was 

 considered as rather a layman in the field of microbiology. In the in- 

 stitute of Van Iterson, Beijerinck's most brilliant pupil, he had con- 

 centrated on the study of technical botany, and for his doctor's degree 

 he had written an eminent thesis on quantitative sugar determinations 

 by means of yeast fermentations. Although we may take it for granted 

 that in the meantime Van Iterson had acquainted him with the most 

 significant properties of the bacteria, his training and experience in 

 microbiology had certainly not been broad. 



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