Martin Gibbs (November 11, 1922—July 24, 2006)
Prepared by Govindjee (gov at uiuc.edu), Emeritus Professor, University of
Illinois at Urbana,IL
Martin was a distinguished alumnus of the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign (PhD, 1947, Botany (Plant Physiology)). Harry J. Fuller
was his advisor. In 1996, UIUC honored him by choosing him as the
recipient of the University of Illinois Achievement Award.
# Martin was born in Philadelphia to Samuel and Rose (Sugarman) Gibbs.
# He was the Abraham S. and Gertrude Berg Professor Emeritus at Brandeis
University.
# His early work with the Atomic Energy Commission laid the foundation
for understanding of several fundamental pathways of carbon metabolism in
plants.
# He was a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, and of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, USA, and the Academie des Sciences,
France.
# He served as editor-in-chief of Plant Physiology for 30 years
(1963—1992); he changed the direction of the field of Plant Physiology
toward more biochemical approaches.
# Martin promoted contacts with, and assistance for, East European
(Hungary, Bulgaria, etc) and Russian scientists in the difficult times of
the 1970s and 1980s.
# He had served as :
a) Career Scientist Brookhaven National Laboratory, 1947-1956;
b) Professor of Biochemistry, Cornell University, 1957-1964;
c) Abraham S. and Gertrude Berg Professor of Biology; Chairman,
Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts,
1965-1993;
d) Adjunct Professor Botanical Institute, University Munster, Federal
Republic of Germany, 1978, 1980, 1987; Adjunct Professor, Department of
Botany University California, Riverside, 1979-1989.
# His Awards included:
• Charles Reid Barnes Award, 1984,
• Adolph E. Gude Award, 1993,
• University Illinois Achievement Award, 1996,
• Gold Medal of the Bulgarian Academy Sciences;
• Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, 1987.
# Martin married Svanhild Karen Kvale on October 11, 1950 (she passed
away on April 7, 2006; Martin Gibbs was truly devoted to her and took care
of her till her death; she suffered from Multiple Sclerosis) .
# Martin Gibbs is survived by his 5 children (Janet Helene, Laura Jean,
Steven Joseph, Michael Seland, and Robert Kvale), 10 grandchildren
(William, Leila, Steven, Daniel, John, Douglas, Alec, Samantha, Savannah &
Trevor), and by his older brother Sol Gibbs.
