BIOGRAPHICAL MEMORANDA 



'At the start the group concentrated on a study of bacterial lumi- 

 nescence and photosynthesis, in a manner that would guarantee the 

 closest possible collaboration of physicists and biologists. It was housed 

 in the Physical Laboratory of Utrecht University, which, in 1938, was 

 expanded by the addition of six new rooms for the group, made pos- 

 sible by a generous new subsidy from the Rockefeller Foundation. 

 Although Ornstein supervised the daily activities, the younger mem- 

 bers did not hesitate to communicate with Kluyver whenever they had 

 obtained significant results, either by writing to him, or by visiting him 

 in Delft, especially on Saturday afternoons. The most important con- 

 tact between the group and its Delft leader was, however, maintained 

 through Kluyver's periodic visits to Utrecht, which occupied an entire 

 day. These visits were always stimulating, strenuous, courteous, and 

 friendly. The association of the two leaders, each a world-renowned 

 authority in his own field, was particularly suitable to inculcate into 

 the younger workers an appreciation of what is required of scientific 

 work that is worthy of being judged by international standards. 



'On such days the experimental work was usually suspended, and the 

 group assembled in Ornstein's room for extensive discussions, while 

 enjoying coffee and tobacco. The discussions were interrupted only 

 for luncheon, in a nearby restaurant that was favoured by Ornstein. 

 Kluyver used jokingly to regret the interruptions, and on one such 

 occasion he discoursed, in science-fiction fashion, on the beneficent 

 effects of food tablets that would immediately restore one's capacity 

 for work for several hours, and could be carried in goodly quantity in 

 a waistcoat pocket. We may assume that Kluyver, despite everything, 

 found it quite appropriate that the deprivations of war made it nec- 

 essary to replace these luncheons by a simple meal, consisting of a few 

 slices of bread and a tea- or coffee substitute, eaten in the laboratory. 



'At the start the two leaders had agreed that their names should not 

 ordinarily appear on scientific publications by the group. Only once 

 did they deviate from this principle. Because the publications were 

 primarily biological, Kluyver took an active part in their preparation. 

 He spent many weekends with the authors, whose experience in this 

 respect was identical with that of Kluyver's pupils. 



'Ornstein died in 1941 ; his end was undoubtedly accelerated by the 

 cruel measures of the occupation. Under the difficult circumstances 

 of wartime, Kluyver directed the program single-handedly until 



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