Martin Gibbs (November 11, 1922 – July 24, 2006) was an American

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

and educator who worked in the field of carbon metabolism. The Martin Gibbs Medal, an award honoring individuals in

plant sciences Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially their anatomy, taxonomy, and ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who specialises in this field. "Plant" and "botany ...

, is named in his honor.

Career

Gibbs was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and educated at the

Philadelphia College of Pharmacy Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He obtained his Ph.D. from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

in 1947. Gibbs went on to work as a scientist at the

Brookhaven National Laboratory Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratories, United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Upton, New York, a hamlet of the Brookhaven, New York, Town of Brookhaven. It w ...

that same year. In 1957, he returned to academia as professor of biochemistry at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. In 1962, in the midst of his research, he accepted the role as editor-in-chief of ''

Plant Physiology Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Plant physiologists study fundamental processes of plants, such as photosynthesis, respiration, plant nutrition, plant hormone functions, tr ...

''. As editor he focused his strong inclination toward biochemistry on journal manuscripts and was able to significantly grow the journal. He eventually moved on to

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

becoming the Abraham S. and Gertrude Berg Professor of Biology and served as chair of the Department of Biology for three years. In 1993, the Martin Gibbs Medal, awarded to those who have provided significant contributions in the field of plant sciences, was created by the American Society of Plant Biologists to honor his retirement.

Career related

*Consultant

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

, 1961–64, 1969–1972 *

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

, 1966–69 *

Cosmos Club The Cosmos Club is a 501(c)(7) private social club in Washington, D.C., that was founded by John Wesley Powell in 1878 as a gentlemen's club for those interested in science. Among its stated goals is, "The advancement of its members in science, ...

, 1984 *Marine Biological Laboratory, 1970 *RESA lecturer, 1969 *NATO consultant fellowship board, 1968–70 *Council International Exchange of Scholars, 1976–82 *Chairman of selection committee, Fulbright Scholars for Eastern Europe *Adjunct professor Botanical Institute, University Munster, Federal Republic of Germany, 1978, 1980, 1987 *Adjunct professor department botany University California, Riverside, 1979-1989.

Creative works

Author

*Structure and Function of Chloroplasts, 1970 *Crop Productivity-Research Imperatives, 1975 *Crassulacean Acid Metabolism, 1982 *Crassulacean Acid Biosynthesis and Function of Plant Lipids, 1983 *Crop Productivity-Research Imperative, Revisited, 1985 *Hungarian-USA Binational Symposium on Photosynthesis, 1986

Editor-in-chief

*Plant Physiology, 1963—92

Associate editor

*Physiologie Vegetale, 1966—1976 *Annual Review of Plant Physiology, 1966—1971

Awards

*Recipient Charles Reid Barnes award, 1984 *

Alexander von Humboldt Fellow The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation () is a foundation that promotes international academic cooperation between scientists and scholars from Germany and abroad. Established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, it is funded by th ...

, 1987 *Adolph E. Gude award, 1993 *Martin Gibbs medal, 1993 *University Illinois Achievement award, 1996 *Bulgarian Academy Sciences gold medal *Recognized as a Pioneer Member of the

American Society of Plant Biologists The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) is a non-profit professional society for research and education in plant science with over 4,000 members world-wide. It was founded in 1924, as the American Society of Plant Physiologists (ASPP). T ...

References

External links

The Boston Globe - ObituaryMaarteen J. Chrispeels, "Martin Gibbs", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2016)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, Martin Cornell University faculty 1922 births 2006 deaths Members of the French Academy of Sciences University of the Sciences alumni University of Illinois alumni Brookhaven National Laboratory staff Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences