I conducted research in electrochemistry as an undergraduate with Calvin Huber at the University of Wisconsin, who was a student of Herb Laitinen, an outstanding analytical chemist.
My Ph.D. in Biophysical Chemistry was from Don Crothers at Yale. Don obtained his degree from Bruno Zimm and did a postdoctoral with Nobelist Manfred Eigen, who was a frequent visitor while I was at Yale. One of my teachers, Lars Onsager, won a Nobel Prize, while I was a student. A collaborator of Crothers at the time, G. Khorana, also received a Nobel Prize at about the same time.
I then went to Caltech to study a biophysical problem: the avoidance response of Phycomyces (see Former Research). A few months after my arrival, Max won his Nobel Prize for earlier work on phage. He is considered the father of molecular biology. We had a party in my little home in Pasadena.
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