 | Julian Sturtevant |
Biophysical chemist was an expert on instruments
Julian Sturtevant, professor emeritus of chemistry and of molecular biophysics and biochemistry, died on Aug. 12 at the age of 97.
Sturtevant taught at Yale 1931-1977 and continued to do research at the University for another 20 years.
Although originally trained in organic chemistry, Sturtevant became a pioneer in biophysical chemistry, with particular emphasis on the application of thermochemistry to biological systems.
As Sturtevant describes in his "Recollection" published in Protein Science in 1996, his early efforts to measure the kinetics of organic chemical reactions by volume change were perturbed by the large amounts of heat produced. He realized that a modification of the instrument he had been using would enable him to measure the heat produced -- a measurement which, he noted, would be more interesting. He published his first design for a calorimeter in 1937.
Sturtevant never entirely lost his interest in kinetics, but his major efforts over the next 35 years involved development of new and better calorimeters, devices which he used to make increasingly sensitive measurements of reactions of proteins, nucleic acids, and other substances of biological importance. Many collaborators from around the world joined forces with him by providing samples for study in his unique instruments. In the mid 1970s, commercial calorimeters of high precision became available, eliminating the need for home-made instruments. However, because of the high standards of his laboratory, many collaborators preferred to continue to work with Sturtevant, in efforts that continued well beyond his "retirement" in 1977, at the then-mandatory age of 68. His last paper on record was published in November 1999.
Sturtevant was born in New Jersey to Bessie and Edgar H. Sturtevant, a professor of classics and linguistics at Columbia and Yale universities. His great grandfather Julian Monson Sturtevant graduated from Yale Divinity School and was a founder and later president of Illinois College.
Sturtevant received his B.A. from Columbia University in 1927 and his Ph.D. from Yale in 1931. He joined the Yale faculty that year at the age of 23. During World War II, he worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Radiation Laboratory. He was chair of Yale's Department of Chemistry from 1959 to 1962.
Sturtevant and his wife, Elizabeth, were known for hosting members of the chemistry department, particularly younger faculty, at their home on Long Island Sound and for their treks in the Himalayas after his retirement, travels which he documented for the department in color photographs.
As a foremost authority on biochemical calorimetry, Sturtevant was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1973 and received numerous awards including the Yale Graduate School Wilbur L. Cross Medal; honorary degrees from Illinois College and Universitat Regensburg, Germany; a Guggenheim Fellowship; and Fulbright Scholarships for work at Cambridge University and Waite Institute at the University of Adelaide, Australia. He was a visiting professor at the University of California in San Diego and at the Batelle Research Center in Seattle, Washington. His other professional awards include the Huffman Award by the U.S. Calorimetry Conference and the William Clyde DeVane Award given by Yale College in recognition of teaching excellence.
Sturtevant was predeceased by his wife, to whom he was married for 75 years, and by his son Bradford Sturtevant and his son-in-law Dr. John W. Ormsby. He is survived by his daughter, Ann Sturtevant Ormsby; daughter-in-law Carol E. Sturtevant; and granddaughters Abigail E. Ormsby, Dr. Sarah A. Ormsby and Victoria Sturtevant.
A memorial service is planned for the upcoming academic year.
T H I S
In Memoriam: Julian Sturtevant
that measured biological substance
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