AN ASPECT OF THE PROMOTION' OF SCIENCE 



to study music at the Conservatoire at St. Petersburg. Two years later, 

 he fortunately returned to biology and, under the influence of some 

 eminent teachers, he became deeply interested in the microbe world. 

 Some ten years later, there followed his now classical investigations on 

 autotrophy which added a brand-new chapter to general physiology. 

 This flourishing period in Winogradsky's scientific career was followed 

 by a gradual decline in scientific activity for which troublesome ad- 

 ministrative duties may well have been mainly responsible. Being a 

 man of independent means, Winogradsky, in his late forties, decided 

 to retire from the scientific field. He settled permanently on one of 

 his large estates in southern Russia and centered his attention on the 

 practical problems of farm management. He also returned to his old 

 love - the piano - and spent long holidays in Switzerland. Apparently 

 Winogradsky was a total loss for science. Then, in 1918, the Revolu- 

 tion came; Winogradsky fled and, after various wanderings, the sixty- 

 six-year old 'displaced person' arrived in Paris in 1922, where Dr. 

 Roux, the director of the Pasteur Institute, had the happy foresight to 

 offer him the direction of a new division for soil microbiology. The 

 offer was gladly accepted, and this led to the most remarkable result 

 that, in the period 1922-40, a stream of publications appeared which 

 all were written by an aged scientist who for about two decades had 

 evaded the world of science. Nevertheless, these publications revolu- 

 tionized the science of soil microbiology! 



Mr. President, Ladies^ and Gentlemen, 



I have given you some glimpses of three scientists of the romantic type, 

 and all three stories had a happy ending as judged from the point of 

 view of science. It should, however, be realized that, without a happy 

 ending, there might have been no story at all; or, in other words, it 

 seems quite possible that often potential Van 't Hoffs, Beijerincks, and 

 Winogradskys vanish from the scene in such early stages of their sci- 

 entific development that their disappearance is scarcely noted. 



My first conclusion is, therefore, that we should all be on the lookout 

 for supernormally gifted scientists. If they are of the superlatively able 

 type, we can leave them to themselves. But - and this is my second 

 conclusion - if they are of the romantic type, we should ask ourselves 

 what can be done to stabilize their scientific inclinations and to further 

 their careers. 



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