Martin David Kamen (August 27, 1913, Toronto – August 31, 2002, Montecito, California) was an American chemist who, together with Sam Ruben, co-discovered the synthesis of the isotope carbon-14 on February 27, 1940, at the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Berkeley. He also confirmed that all of the oxygen released in photosynthesis comes from water, not carbon dioxide, in 1941. Kamen went on to receive the Albert Einstein World Award of Science in 1989, and the U.S. Department of Energy's 1995 Enrico Fermi award for lifetime scientific achievement.
Early life and education
thumb|Martin Kamen at his [[Bar Mitzva, 1926]]
Kamen was born on August 27, 1913, in Toronto, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. He grew up in Chicago. Interested in classical music, he initially entered the University of Chicago as a music student before changing his major from music to chemistry. Although he gave up music as a career, Kamen continued to play the viola at a high professional level during the rest of his life.
Career
From 1936 to 1944, Kamen worked at the Radiation laboratories at the University of California, Berkeley.
In 1943, Kamen was assigned to Manhattan Project work at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where he worked briefly before returning to Berkeley.
In spite of the fact that his scientific capabilities were unquestioned,
In 1961 Kamen joined the University of California, San Diego, where he founded a biochemistry group as part of the university's new department of chemistry.
Kamen confirmed in 1941 that all of the oxygen released in photosynthesis comes from water, not carbon dioxide. He also studied anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria, the biochemistry of cytochromes and their role in photosynthesis and metabolism, photosynthetic bacteria, making substantial contributions. Kamen put them in contact, and in appreciation he was invited for dinner at a local restaurant. FBI agents observed the dinner, on July 1, 1944, took a photograph of the men together, and submitted a report alleging Kamen to have discussed atomic research with Kheifets. In a memorandum of July 11, 1944, Army officials ordered Lawrence to have Martin Kamen dismissed from his Berkeley position and his work on the Manhattan Project on suspicion of being a “security risk.” There was no hearing or method of appeal.
In addition, Ruth B. Shipley at the Passport Division of the State Department revoked Kamen's passport in 1947, and repeatedly refused to reissue it. This had significant negative effects on Kamen's career and research, preventing him from traveling abroad to give lectures, attend conferences, and take up visiting professorships.
In 1948, the House Committee on Un-American Activities summoned Kamen to testify about his dinner conversation of 1944. From 1947-1955 Kamen engaged in repeated attempts to regain his passport and to engage in international scientific activities. He sought legal counsel in 1950, and started litigation to regain his passport and right to travel, gaining support from the Federation of American Scientists, the American Civil Liberties Union and others.
In 1951 the Chicago Tribune published an article that named him as a suspected spy for the Soviets, further damaging his reputation. Soon after, Kamen attempted suicide. He went on to sue the Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times-Herald for libel, winning his suit in 1955. It took Kamen nearly 10 years to establish his innocence and prove that he had been unjustly blacklisted as a security risk. He was finally able to regain his passport as of July 9, 1955.
Awards and honors
Kamen was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1941. He became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1958. In 1962, Kamen was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1974.
Kamen became a Guggenheim Fellowship recipient in 1956 and again in 1972, in the field of Molecular and Cellular Biology.
Kamen was awarded the Charles F. Kettering Award for Excellence in Photosynthesis Research from the American Society of Plant Biologists in 1968 and the Merck Award of the American Society of Biological Chemists in 1982.
He received the 1989 Albert Einstein World Award of Science. On April 24, 1996, he was presented with the 1995 Enrico Fermi Award, given by the U.S. President and the Department of Energy for lifetime scientific achievement. Some believe he should have won a Nobel Prize, for which he was nominated 14 times between 1955 and 1970.
Books
- Foreword by Edwin M. McMillan.
Archival Collections
- Martin David Kamen Papers MSS 98. UC San Diego Library Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.
- Kamen, Martin, Vertical File, Bernard Becker Medical Library, Washington University in St. Louis.
- Martin David Kamen papers : ca. 1937-1945, Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley