Nobel Laureate Glenn Seaborg autographs a
Periodic Table for a fan as Chemistry Chair
Jim Riehl looks on.
Nobel Laureate Glenn Seaborg autographs a
Periodic Table for a fan as Chemistry Chair
Jim Riehl looks on.
Nobel laureate Glenn Seaborg predicts a brave new world for the next century, but only if science can flourish unconstrained by both ignorance and shortsighted politics.
"The United States owes its preeminent position in the world and its high standard of living in considerable part to science and technology," he told a standing-room-only crowd June 10 in M&M U115. "Recently, however, our lead has been challenged by other countries."
Despite increasing demand for a technologically trained workforce, the science skills of America's youth are actually diminishing.
"We must improve general science education for all our young, not only for those who plan to become scientists, mathematicians, or engineers," he said. "Future employment opportunities . . . will be in areas requiring technical learning and the flexibility of mind to adapt to a society constantly changing."
And a scientifically literate electorate will also be required to make informed decisions on public policy issues ranging from fluoridation to recombinant DNA, Seaborg said.
Seaborg's visit kicked off MTU's inaugural Melvin Calvin Nobel Laureate Lecture Series, which honors the distinguished alumnus. Calvin graduated from MTU in 1931 with a BS in Chemistry and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1961 for his work in photosynthesis. He died in January 1997 in Berkeley. Calvin and Seaborg were colleagues and lifelong friends.
In his address at MTU, Seaborg stressed the importance of applying human values to scientific research, with a caveat. "It should be realized that, while there are certain values and ethical codes of a universal nature, there are also values that are more closely associated with tastes, likes and dislikes, habits, and culturally induced beliefs of various individuals and groups attuned to certain so-called lifestyles," he said. Conflict is inevitable. So, while broad codes of conduct and values should be applied to science and technology, "we must find a way to avoid having a tyranny of parochial interests when it comes to the possibility of advancing the general good through scientific progress."
When asked how he felt about research in human cloning, he stood by his principles. "I don't think the basic research should be banned," Seaborg said. Society has the right to control the applications of the research, but the information garnered could be of great value to the human race. In any case, to ban all research in the US will simply move the scientists offshore. "Someone else will do it," he said.
Seaborg received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1951, along with his colleague Edwin McMillian, for discoveries of plutonium and other transuranium elements. Though his work is commonly linked with nuclear weaponry (and he did serve as chair of the Atomic Energy Commission from 1961 to 1971), perhaps his most valuable work involves the development of isotopes used in nuclear medicine for the diagnosis and treatment of disease.
He called the recent nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan "very unfortunate" and an impediment to the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty, which he supports. But he was not surprised. "I visited India in 1963, when I was chairman of the AEC, and I could see that India was producing plutonium," Seaborg said. "Even then, we knew it was possible things would come to a head."
Noting that he was in little danger of having to stand accountable for his forecast, Seaborg predicted a roster of marvels for the year 2061: the world's major health problems will have been solved, artificial life may be a possibility, the moon and Mars will be colonized, solar energy will meet most human energy requirements, recycling will be perfected, the world's population will be stabilized, different languages will no longer be a barrier between people, food supplies will be adequate, and the brain will be so well-understood that mental illness may be eradicated, among others.
It's a far cry from his childhood in Ishpeming, caddying nine holes for 20 or 25 cents, depending on the customer. "There were lots of things I liked," he said, remembering in particular the Carnegie Library and skinny-dipping in Mud Lake. He also appreciates the excellent education he received. The family left for Southern California when Seaborg was 10, and his teacher told him he'd probably skip a grade when he got there. He did.
Seaborg met Melvin Calvin in 1937, when Calvin joined the faculty at the University of California at Berkeley and Seaborg was the personal research assistant of the famed chemist Gilbert Newton Lewis. "Melvin and I and a number of our bachelor friends lived in the Faculty Club," Seaborg said. "I recall that Joe Kennedy and I used to join Melvin in his room to imbibe alcoholic drinks, which put us in a good mood for flirting during dinner with the waitresses in the dining room. Melvin was more successful at this than Joe and I."
Calvin also provided matchmaking services that included lending his Oldsmobile so Seaborg could court his wife-to-be, Helen, who was reticent in the face of Seaborg's attentions. The couple were married in 1942.
A white pine was planted in Seaborg's honor near the M&M Building. Also during his visit to the Upper Peninsula, he will attend the groundbreaking for the Seaborg Science Complex at Northern Michigan University.
"We must all continue to work toward the common goal of improving education," he said.
"This is the challenge I present to you," he told the MTU audience. "Employ developing technology with a reverence for life, a respect for human values, and an eye to preserving our precious natural heritage for future generations."