Lloyd Ackert, Drexel University
Chemical Heritage Foundation, Brown Bag Lunch Talk
Time: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Place: 6th Floor Conference Room, Chemical Heritage Foundation
Information: 215-873-8289 or bbl@chemheritage.org
In the late-19th century, the Russian plant physiologist, Sergei Winogradsky (1856-1953), developed a novel perspective on the 'role of microbes in the general cycle of life.' Here he applied new instruments, techniques, and theories of organic chemistry to investigating the physiology of 'nature's smallest beings,' microorganisms. His research culminated in his discovery of what he called 'a new kind of life'-an inorganic respiration that became known as chemosynthesis. This story brings together not only his research program, but also his experiences as a Russian-trained botanist in European laboratories in Strassburg and Zurich, and expeditions along the Swiss Alps.
Lloyd Ackert is currently writing "The 'Cycle of Life': A History of Experimental Holism," in which he traces how a series of scientists developed laboratory-based methods to investigate a holistic vision of nature known as the "cycle of life." It is a survey of late-18th to mid-20th century sciences as varied as biogeography, organic chemistry, plant physiology, microbiology, soil science, and ecosystem ecology.