The White House of the United States of America annonunced on
December 12, 1995 that Martin Kamen (discoverer of Carbon-14) and Ugo Fano
(for his pioneering contributions to atomic and radiation physics with
implications to field of nuclear medicine) will be the recepients of the
Enrico Fermi Award. Each recepient will receive US$ 100,000 and a gold
medal. The announcement dealing with Kamen's Award stated:" Martin Kamen's
work changed biochemistry in a fundamental way-- Carbon-14 is used today
to understand all biochemical reactions that involve carbon. Chemists,
biologists, archaeologists, geologists and others use Carbon-14 for
applications as varied as dating archaeological finds to tracking carbon
dioxide in the environment. Kamen discovered the long-lived radioisotope
in 1940 in collaboration with the late Sam Ruben. He developed Carbon-14
as a tracer in biological systems and used it in his own research to
understand metabolism and photosynthesis."
The annoncement continued: "A chemist, Kamen is professor emeritus
at the University of California at San Diego and at the University of
Southern California. He was born in 1913 in Toronto, Canada. He earned his
B.S. and PhD degrees in chemistry and physical chemistry, respectively,
from the University of Chicago. Kamen began his career as a radiochemist
at the University of California at Berkeley's Lawrence Radiation
Laboratory. In 1945, he began work at the Washington University School of
Medicine and became professor of biochemistry at Brandeis University in
1957. In 1961,he became professor of chemistry at the University of
California at San Diego; Kamen also taught at the University of Southern
California from the mid- 1970's".Additional information may be obtained
from DOE Press at 202-586-5806. Martin Kamen has written his personal
perspectives both in the "Annual Review of Biochemistry" and in the
Historical Corner of "Photosynthesis Research". Martin, please accept my
personal congratulations if you ever read this "News group".Oh yes, the
dinner you gave Rajni and I in the wonderful restraunt in Paris (France)
in the late sixtees when you were at CNRS (Gif-sur-yvette) was very good.
May I assume that you are going to fly us to Paris (France) to the same
restraunt for a repeat dinner in 1996 to celebrate the Fermi Award?
Govindjee
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"The firefly seems afire, the sky looks flat;
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