James Alan Bassham (November 26, 1922 – November 19, 2012) was an American

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosop ...

known for his work on

photosynthesis Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored in ...

. He received a B.S. degree in

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

in 1945 from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

, earning his Ph.D. degree from Berkeley in 1949. His graduate studies were on the subject of

carbon reduction Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...

during photosynthesis, working with Melvin Calvin in the Bio-Organic Chemistry Group of the

Lawrence Radiation Laboratory Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

at the University of California. He discovered, with Melvin Calvin and

Andrew Benson Andrew Alm Benson (September 24, 1917 – January 16, 2015) was an American biologist and a professor of biology at the University of California, San Diego, until his retirement in 1989. He is known for his work in understanding the carbon cy ...

, the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle. He continued his work as Associate Director of this group. Besides his work on the basic carbon reduction cycle of photosynthesis, Bassham conducted research on the biosynthetic paths leading from the cycle to the

thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws ...

and

kinetics Kinetics ( grc, κίνησις, , kinesis, ''movement'' or ''to move'') may refer to: Science and medicine * Kinetics (physics), the study of motion and its causes ** Rigid body kinetics, the study of the motion of rigid bodies * Chemical kin ...

of the carbon paths and the factors that control the flow of material and energy in this metabolic network. He is coauthor (with Melvin Calvin) of "The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis". He died on November 19, 2012.James Bassham's obituary
/ref>

References

1922 births 2012 deaths American chemists University of California, Berkeley alumni {{US-scientist-stub