Accession No.: 2008-12
PROCESSING RECORD
SCRIPPS INSTITUTION OF OCEANOGRAPHY ARCHIVES
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Lewin, Ralph Arnold. 1921-2008
Ralph Arnold Lewin Papers, 2001-2005
Physical Description: 1 mss
Description: Papers of marine biologist Ralph Arnold Lewin, including poetry and files on the
All-California Esperanto Conference, 2001; Downing Dinner, 2003; Banquet of the Society,
2002; and the XVIII International Seaweed Symposium in Bergen, 2004.
Biography: Born in London, England, on April 30, 1921, Lewin was educated at Cambridge University, receiving a B.A. degree
in botany in 1942 and M.A. in botany in 1946. He came to the United States to continue graduate studies at Yale University and
was awarded a Ph.D., also in botany, in 1950. He also was awarded a doctor of science degree from Cambridge University in
1972. As a young expert in marine seaweeds (algae), he was enlisted during World War II to survey the entire coastline of Great
Britain to estimate the quantity of algae present for potential fermentation in the production of fuels and organic liquids needed
for the war effort. After obtaining his doctoral degree, he spent the next five years working in Nova Scotia as an algal biologist
for the National Research Council of Canada. From 1956 to 1959 he was a research algologist at the Marine Biological
Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. Lewin joined Scripps Institution of Oceanography as associate professor of marine biology in
1960 and retired from that position as full professor in 1991. His early research concerned the genetics of single-cell green algae,
specifically their mechanism of sexual reproduction. He developed simple methods to select for mutant cells, thus making
possible genetic studies and giving him the title of "the father of green algae genetics." His first investigations at Scripps were on
marine microbes, known as flexibacteria that glide over surfaces. A genus of flexibacteria, Lewinella, was named in his honor.
He later became interested in the electron microscopic anatomy of algal flagella, the long, thin beating structures used by algal
cells to swim. In the 1980s he was the first person to understand and publicize the evolutionary significance of a primitive group
of marine algae known as the "prochorophytes" or more simply "Prochloron," a likely ancestor of green plant chloroplasts.
Lewin was considered to be the world expert on these unique marine organisms. He was one of the first scientists to be involved
in using algal cells to condition agricultural soils to hold more water. He also was one of the first to show that some single-cell
algae can produce important oils, today a subject of great importance in the search for alternative sources of energy. In the 1980s
the San Diego Zoo called Dr. Lewin to ask why their polar bears were turning green. Microscopic examination by Lewin showed
that the hollow hairs of the fur were harboring a single-cell blue-green algae that was dividing in this protected environment. A
bath with a low concentration of bleach turned the green bears white again. Lewin and Lanna Cheng, a Scripps marine
entomologist, were well-known visitors of marine research laboratories throughout the world. Lewin enjoyed an international
reputation as an engaging, humorous lecturer in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, Asia and China. He helped
organize and teach courses on marine microbiology and algae for UNESCO in Finland, Singapore and China. In 1967 Lewin was
awarded the Darbaker Prize by the Botanical Society of America. In 1970 he was president of the Phycological Society of
America (PSA). In 1982 he was National Lecturer of the PSA. Lewin published more than 250 scientific papers, edited
"Physiology and Biochemistry of Algae," "The Genetics of Algae," "Origins of Plastids" and, with Cheng, "Prochloron: a
Microbial Enigma," and was author of "Merde, Excursions in Scientific, Cultural and Socio-Historical Coprology." He also was
known for his poetry, including such works as "Poems about Animals and Plants" and "The Biology of Algae and Diverse Other
Verses." He was an expert in Esperanto and translated "Winnie the Pooh" into that language. Lewin was a member of the
following scientific societies: Society of General Microbiology, British Phycological Society, Phycological Society of America,
Sigma Xi, Society for Experimental Biology, International Phycological Society, International Society of Applied Phycology,
Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, Zoological Society of San Diego, the Western Society of Naturalists and
a Wilkins Fellow of Downing College.