From The Director: Biotech at Bancroft
Consider: One-third of the country's biotechnology companies lie within 35 miles of a University of California campus; one-fifth of California biotechnology companies were founded by University of California scientists; six of the ten best-selling drugs based on biotechnology stem from University of California research. Molecular biology and biotechnology influence virtually every field of the life sciences, generate constant public interest and controversy because of their benefits and perceived risks, raise serious questions of public policy, and have a significant impact on the economy.
All of this led Bancroft to establish its Program in the History of the Biological Sciences and Biotechnology three years ago with a start-up gift from an anonymous donor.
Daniel E. Koshland, Jr., James D. Watson, Charles Faulhaber, Edward Penhoet. Photo by Peg Skorpinski. |
Last March 12-13, the program went public with a stellar series of events (see the Spring 1999 Bancroftiana). This was by far the largest and most ambitious public program that Bancroft has ever sponsored, attracting more than 1,200 guests. It was successful in large part thanks to hard work from Bancroft staff, especially Curator of History of Science and Technology David Farrell and Oral Historian Sally Hughes, and magnificent cooperation from other Berkeley campus units. Of course, that hard work would have gone for naught without a starstudded group of speakers, headed by Nobel Laureate James D. Watson, codiscoverer, with Francis Crick, of the structure of DNA.
The weekend began on Friday with the opening of Bancroft's spring exhibition, "Bioscience at Berkeley, Biotechnology in the Bay Area," which traced the evolution of the life sciences at Berkeley in the work of such key figures as bacteriologist Karl F. Meyer, who taught the California canning industry how to avoid botulism, and Nobel Laureates Melvin Calvin, discoverer of the processes of photosynthesis, and Wendell Stanley, creator of Berkeley's famous Virus Laboratory.
The second part of the exhibition focused on the transfer of basic science into applied technology: the patenting of and controversies surrounding recombinant DNA technology, which lies at the foundation of the modern biotechnology industry, and scientific papers, laboratory notebooks, business plans, and press reports on the origins of Chiron and Genentech, two of the Bay Area's first biotech companies (whose founders serve on the program's Advisory Board).
The exhibition opening was also the occasion for presentation of the program's first set of oral histories, to UCSF professor William Rutter, co-founder of Chiron Corporation; Stanford Professor Arthur Kornberg, Nobel Laureate for his work on DNA polymerase enzymes; and Neils Reimers, whose work in patenting basic recombinant DNA technology has brought both Stanford and the University of California hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties.
In his opening remarks Chancellor (and historian) Robert Berdahl spoke eloquently of the importance of oral history for capturing the ethos and ephemera of significant events — documentation worth its weight in gold to the professional historian.
The following morning UC Extension offered a short course on "DNA Technology in Plain English: A Biotechnology Primer" to an audience of 400. Fortified with some basic knowledge, that audience was joined Saturday afternoon by another 800 guests (in Wheeler Auditorium, with closed-circuit TV display to an overflow crowd in Dwinelle Hall) for "Biotechnology at 25: Perspectives on History, Science, and Society."
After Watson's keynote speech, "From the Double Helix to the Human Genome Project," a panel chaired by Chiron cofounder and Berkeley's Dean of the School of Public Health Edward Penhoet explored "Historical Perspectives on Recombinant DNA Technology."
A second panel, chaired by Professor Emeritus Daniel Koshland, Jr., focused on "Future Perspectives: Recombinant DNA Technology in Science, Industry, and Society."
With this symposium the Program in the History of Biotechnology and the Biological Sciences has gotten off to an auspicious IPO. But for the past three years the program has quietly gone about the business of processing archival collections of significant scholars, preparing oral histories, working with the UCSF Library on a plan for documenting biotechnology in the Bay Area, and consulting with Berkeley faculty to set priorities for acquiring papers of significant life scientists.
All of this takes money, and our initial grant has been exhausted. During 1999- 2000 we shall mount a fundraising campaign for the program, turning to industry leaders, Cal alumni, and the Friends of The Bancroft Library for their support. We are planning another major public event for this coming spring, to focus on the economic impact of biotechnology. Stay tuned!
Volume 115
Fall 1999
Table of Contents
Bancroft's Marvelous Medieval French Manuscripts
From the Director: Biotech at Bancroft
Cataloging the Teatro Español Collection
New (Old) Mark Twain Found in Bancroft Scraps
Eleanor Swent Puts Her Mining Expertise to Work
Russian Emigré Wins First Hill-Shumate Prize
Theresa Salazar Is New Curator for Bancroft Collection
New Oral History Catalog Covers Two Decades
Second Chronicle Salutes UC Women Since 1870
Desiderata: Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate
