Laboratory notebooks (1948-1953) of Leo Szilard and Aaron Novick. Szilard, a nuclear physicist, biologist and advocate of global arms control, held an appointment (1948-1955) as a professor of biophysics at the Institute of Radiology and Biophysics, University of Chicago, and, with Aaron Novick, he studied bacteria using a device called the chemostat. The materials also include correspondence (1948-1964) between Szilard and Novick and photographs.
Leo Szilard and Aaron Novick Research Files, 1948 - 1969 (MSS 196)
Extent: 0.4 Linear feet (1 archives box)
Digital Content
Materials from this collection have been digitized with funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
Leo Szilard held a halftime appointment (1948-1952) as professor of biophysics at the Institute of Radiobiology and Biophysics, University of Chicago. Aaron Novick participated in the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago (1943-1946) and later worked as an assistant professor of biophysics (1948-1955) at the Institute. Together they studied bacterial and viral populations under controlled physical and chemical conditions using a device called the chemostat. Novick was interested in the study of mutations and adaptive enzyme formation.
Between November 1949 and June 1950, Szilard arranged a series of meetings of researchers in the Midwest to present research on the genetics and physiology of bacteria and viruses. The participants included S. E. Luria, Joshua Lederberg, A. D. Hershey, S. Spiegelman, and James Watson. The meetings focused on pioneering research which formed the basis of early molecular biology.
In 1954, the Institute of Radiobiology and Biophysics was dissolved and a joint department of Biophysics and Biochemistry was established. During the reorganization process, Szilard took a leave of absence and accepted a visiting professorship at Brandeis University. Novick left for the Biological Laboratory at Cold Spring Harbor, and later he accepted a position at the Institute of Molecular Biology at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Novick and Szilard continued to correspond until Szilard's death in 1964.
The Leo Szilard and Aaron Novick Research Files document experiments on bacterial populations performed jointly by Szilard and Novick at the Institute of Radiobiology and Biophysics, University of Chicago. The materials are arranged in three series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) LABORATORY NOTEBOOKS and 3) PHOTOGRAPHS.
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