Claude E. ZoBell Papers, 1931 - 1989 (SMC 131)

OFF-SITE STORAGE: COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. ALLOW ONE WEEK FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS.
Restrictions Apply: Original media formats are restricted. Viewing/listening copies may be available for researchers.

Extent: 5.2 Linear feet (13 archives boxes and 1 film)

Digital Content

Selected photographs from this collection have been digitized and can be viewed through links in the container list.

Marine microbiologist Claude E. ZoBell's biographical materials, correspondence, professional files, writings and photographs.

Claude Ephraim ZoBell (1904-1989) was a forerunner in the field of marine microbiology who pioneered research on microorganisms and microbial processes in the ocean. After graduating from the Southern Idaho College of Education in 1922, he taught and was a principal at an elementary school in Rigby, Idaho. He resigned from teaching in 1926, attaining his M.S. in bacteriology from Utah State University in 1929, and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1931. In 1932, ZoBell joined the Scripps Institution of Oceanography as a temporary instructor of marine microbiology. He soon became an assistant professor, and in 1948, a full professor. In 1972 he became professor emeritus at UC San Diego.

ZoBell is credited with discovering 68 species of ocean bacteria. He was a participant on the Galathea Expedition (1950-1952), which travelled around the world retrieving deep-sea organisms from 35,000 feet below sea level. He also embarked on the Naga Expedition (1960), the Dodo Expedition (1964) to the Marianas Trench, and the Zetes Expedition (1966) to the Japan-Bonin Trench. His publications include nearly 300 research papers and a landmark textbook on marine microbiology; he also founded the Geomicrobiology Journal in 1976. ZoBell served in executive positions for a variety of scientific associations. He worked as an advisor to NASA on the subject of spacecraft component sterility, and was a consultant for oil companies on petroleum microbiology. He devoted a significant amount of time to activities such as Boy Scouts of America, San Diego County Council, San Diego Science Fairs, the American Red Cross and the Zoological Society of San Diego. He also funded the construction of the Farnsworth Television Pioneer Museum in his hometown of Rigby, Idaho and supported numerous scholarships. He died in La Jolla, California at the age of 84.

The collection consists of marine microbiologist Claude E. ZoBell's biographical materials, correspondence, professional files, expedition reports, writings and photographs. Subjects of note include microbiology, oil recovery, marine ecology, the Galathea Expedition, and ZoBell's philanthropic activities.

Arranged in six series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL FILES, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) SUBJECT FILES, 4) EXPEDITIONS, 5) WRITINGS and 6) PHOTOGRAPHS & SLIDES.

SIO Biographical Files, SAC 5. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.

Container List

BIOGRAPHICAL FILES

Box 1 Folder 1
Annual Supplements to UC San Diego Bio-Bibliography, 1948 - 1971
Box 1 Folder 2
Biography, 1931 - 1961
Box 1 Folder 3
Certificates, 1924 - 1982
Box 1 Folder 4
Curricula vitae, 1955 - 1987
Box 1 Folder 5
Memorial Resolution Honoring Claude E. ZoBell, California State Assembly, 1989 March 28

Memorial service, 1989 April 7

Box 1 Folder 6
Photographs and program

Contact sheets and negatives by Jackie Parker of ZoBell's memorial service at Scripps. Attendees in the photographs include Robert Hessler, Richard Morita, Jerome Namias, Roger Revelle and the ZoBell family.

Box 1 Folder 7
Service recording on audiocassette
Box 1 Folder 8
Miscellaneous, 1939 - 1987

Memoranda and other materials. Includes 1980 emo from ZoBell to Betty Shor re: Munk's claim to be sole SIO 1939-47 graduate student, with list of ZoBell's early advisees.

Box 1 Folder 9-10
Publicity, 1947 - 1985
Box 1 Folder 11
Tribute to Claude E. ZoBell, 1972 May

Annual SIO Staff Council meeting.

CORRESPONDENCE

Box 1 Folder 12
1934 - 1950
Box 2 Folder 1-9
1951 - 1974
Box 3 Folder 1-7
1975 - 1989
Box 8 Folder 9
Miscellaneous, 1952 - 1982
Box 8 Folder 10
Debyser, Jacques, 1951-1953
Box 8 Folder 11
Freitas, Yvonne Mal, 1963-1966
Box 8 Folder 12
Gundersen, Kaare R., 1972 - 1981
Box 9 Folder 1
Gunkel, Wilfried, 1973-1985
Box 9 Folder 2
Kiser, Jackson S., 1943-1963
Box 9 Folder 3
Lear, Donald W., 1960
Box 9 Folder 4
Marquis, Robert E., 1969-1978
Box 9 Folder 5
Morita, Richard Y., 1976 - 1987

SUBJECT FILES

Box 4 Folder 1
American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), Distinguished Alumnus Award, 1987
Box 4 Folder 2
American Society for Microbiology (ASM), 1972 - 1986
Box 4 Folder 3
American Society for Microbiology Archives, 1982
Box 4 Folder 4
Atomic Energy Commission, 1950 - 1959
Box 4 Folder 5
Boy Scouts of America, 1938 - 1982
Box 4 Folder 6
Composting, 1970 - 1971
Box 4 Folder 7
Conference on Microbiological Processes Useful in Enhanced Oil Recovery, 1979
Box 4 Folder 8
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1965
Box 4 Folder 9
Exxon Research and Engineering Company, 1977 - 1980
Box 4 Folder 10-11
Farnsworth Television Pioneer Museum, 1979 - 1986
Box 4 Folder 12
Geomicrobiology Journal, 1976 - 1982
Box 4 Folder 13
Idaho State University (ISU), 1980 - 1987
Box 5 Folder 1
ISU Alumni Association, 1980 - 1986
Box 5 Folder 2
ISU ZoBell-Albion Scholarship in Education

International connections and events

Box 5 Folder 3
Australia, 1964 - 1979
Box 5 Folder 4
Belgium, 1962 - 1967
Box 5 Folder 5
Canada, 1958 - 1979
Box 5 Folder 6
Cuba, 1954 - 1987
Box 5 Folder 7
Denmark, 1954 - 1982
Box 5 Folder 8
Egypt, 1963 - 1970
Box 5 Folder 9
England, 1953 - 1973
Box 5 Folder 10
France, 1959 - 1975
Box 5 Folder 11
Germany, 1958 - 1985
Box 5 Folder 12
Iceland, 1965
Box 5 Folder 13
India, 1958 - 1984
Box 6 Folder 1
Japan, 1957 - 1987
Box 6 Folder 2
Mexico, 1959 - 1978
Box 6 Folder 3
Philippines, 1951 - 1977
Box 6 Folder 4
Portugal, 1961 - 1967
Box 6 Folder 5
Wales, 1971
Box 6 Folder 6
Maps and blueprints, 1932, 1979

Ritter Hall floor plans (1932 and 1979), SIO campus map (1932).

Box 6 Folder 7
Marine Ecology Progress Series, 1980 - 1987
Box 6 Folder 8
Marine Microbiology, textbook reviews and comments, 1946 - 1965
Box 6 Folder 9
Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR), 1978 - 1986
Box 7 Folder 1
National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant applications, 1967 - 1969
Box 7 Folder 2
National Lexicographic Board, 1954
Box 7 Folder 3
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1976 - 1977
Box 7 Folder 4
National Science Foundation (NSF), 1965- 1972
Box 7 Folder 5
Nealson, Kenneth H., 1974 - 1976
Box 7 Folder 6
Newspaper clippings, ca. 1936 - 1980
Box 7 Folder 7
Novelli, G. David, 1958
Box 7 Folder 8
Offsite research, 1933 - 1972
Box 7 Folder 9
Oppenheimer, Carl H., 1964 - 1987
Box 7 Folder 10
Pan Pacific Institute of Ocean Science, 1977 - 1980
Box 7 Folder 11
Radcliffe College, 1977 - 1982
Box 7 Folder 12
Rockefeller Foundation, 1954 - 1959

Sabbatical

Box 7 Folder 13
General information, 1947 - 1948
Box 7 Folder 14
Correspondence, 1947 - 1948
Box 8 Folder 1
Correspondence (continued), 1947 - 1948
Box 8 Folder 2
Writings, 1947 - 1948
Box 8 Folder 3
"Report on Activities, Observations and Experiences of Dr. Claude E. ZoBell While on Sabbatical Leave...", 1947 - 1948
Box 8 Folder 4
Oil pollution research, 1947 - 1948
Box 8 Folder 5
Scholander, Per, 1942
Box 8 Folder 6
Seaweed, 1957
Box 8 Folder 7
SIO Archives, 1983 - 1987
Box 8 Folder 8
SIO memoranda and information, 1936 - 1982
Box 9 Folder 6
Sumner Club, 1982 - 1983
Box 9 Folder 7
Symposium on "Man and the Ocean: Today and Tomorrow", 1975
Box 9 Folder 8
Texas A&M Research Foundation, 1947
Box 9 Folder 9
University of California, 1930 - 1970
Box 9 Folder 10
University of Santiago de Compostela, 1977 - 1980
Box 9 Folder 11
Utah State College Alumni Association, 1944 - 1987
Box 10 Folder 1
ZoBell Scholarship, Utah State University, 1981 - 1989
Box 10 Folder 2-3
Zoological Society of San Diego, 1936 - 1982

EXPEDITIONS

Galathea Expedition, 1950 - 1952

Box 10 Folder 4
General information and reports, 1949 - 1952
Box 10 Folder 5-7
Correspondence, 1949 - 1960
Box 11 Folder 1-2
Correspondence (continued), 1949 - 1960
Box 11 Folder 3
Publicity, 1949 - 1958
Box 11 Folder 4
Memoirs, 1950 - 1952
Box 11 Folder 5
Oceanographic instruments, undated
Box 11 Folder 6
Photographs, 1950 - 1952
Oversize FS-35
Arbejdsmetode [Work Method] film, undated

16mm color film, silent, 10 minutes. ZoBell performs experiments in laboratory.

Naga Expedition, 1960

Box 11 Folder 7
General information and reports, 1960
Box 11 Folder 8
Correspondence, 1960
Box 11 Folder 9
Photographs, 1960

Dodo Expedition, 1964

Box 12 Folder 1
General information and reports, 1964
Box 12 Folder 2
Correspondence, 1964 January - 1964 November
Box 12 Folder 3
Deck logs, 1964 November 25-28

Zetes Expedition, 1966

Box 12 Folder 4
General information and reports, 1966
Box 12 Folder 5
Correspondence, 1956 December - 1966 July
Box 12 Folder 6
Deck log and notes, 1966
Box 12 Folder 7
Publicity, 1966
Box 12 Folder 8
Photographs, 1966

Japanese deep submersible Yomiuri-Go, R/V Argo and expedition personnel.

WRITINGS

Box 12 Folder 9
Cultural Requirements and Metabolism of the Brucella Group - Doctoral dissertation, 1931 October 28
Box 12 Folder 10
"Special Report to President's Office on the Accomplishments of The Scripps Institution of Oceanography", 1946 July 12

With an addition by Harald Ulrik Sverdrup.

Box 12 Folder 11
"Bacterial Life at the Bottom of the Philippine Trench", Science , 1952 May
Box 12 Folder 12
"Occurrence and Importance of Bacteria in Indonesian Waters", Journal for Scientific Research , 1952 January
Box 12 Folder 13
"The Occurrence of Bacteria in the Deep Sea and Their Significance for Animal Life", Biology International , 1954
Box 12 Folder 14
"Some Effects of High Hydrostatic Pressure on Apparatus Observed on the Danish Deep-Sea Expedition", Deep-Sea Research , 1954
Box 12 Folder 15
"Barophilic Bacteria in Some Deep Sea Sediments", Journal of Bacteriology , 1957 April
Box 12 Folder 16
"Observations on Seaweeds Along the New Zealand Coast", 1957
Box 12 Folder 17
"Some Impressions of Seaweeds in Tasmania", 1957
Box 12 Folder 18
Claude E. ZoBell and Richard Y. Morita. "Deep-Sea Bacteria", Galathea Report , 1959
Box 12 Folder 19
"Introduction to Marine Microbiology", 1959
Box 12 Folder 20
"Thermal Changes Accompanying the Compression of Aqueous Solutions to Deep-Sea Conditions", Limnology and Oceanography , 1959 October
Box 12 Folder 21
N. Van Uden and C.E. ZoBell. "Candida Marina Nov. Spec., Torulopsis Torresii Nov. Spec. and T. Maris Nov. Spec., Three Yeasts From the Torres Strait", 1962 May 15
Box 12 Folder 22
Humitake Seki and Claude E. ZoBell. "Microbial Assimilation of Carbon Dioxide in the Japan Trench", 1967 August
Box 12 Folder 23
"Microbiology and Microbiologists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography", 1982 August 22
Box 12 Folder 24
"Magnitude of Earthquakes and the Richter Scale", ca. 1984
Box 12 Folder 25
Claude E. ZoBell and Jean Switzer ZoBell. "Purposeful Peregrinations in New Zealand and Australia, 1957", 1986 August
Box 12 Folder 26
"Microbial Life in the Deep Sea", undated

PHOTOGRAPHS & SLIDES

Photographs

Box 12 Folder 27
Beaches, 1950
Box 12 Folder 28
Electromicrographs, undated
Box 13 Folder 1
Laboratory equipment, undated
Box 13 Folder 2
Miscellaneous people, ca. 1940 - 1970
Box 13 Folder 3
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 1910 - 1969
Box 13 Folder 4
Ships, ca. 1952
Box 13 Folder 5
UC San Diego campus, 1960s
Box 13 Folder 6
Work at sea, undated
Box 13 Folder 7
ZoBell, Claude E., ca. 1930 - 1980
Box 13 Folder 8
Glass color slides, ca. 1938

Selected slides from this folder have been digitized.