Ralph Arnold Lewin (30 April 1921
– 30 November 2008) was an Anglo-American
biologist
A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual cell, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually speciali ...
, known as "the father of green algae genetics". He was born in London and later moved to America. He also was known as a poetry author.
Education
He studied at
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
from 1939 to 1947, graduating with a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...
in 1942 and
MA in 1946, whilst at Cambridge he focussed on Botany. He then studied at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
from 1947 to 1951, graduating with an
M.S.
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
in 1949 and a
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper
''Piled Higher and Deeper'' (also known as ''PhD Comics''), is a newsp ...
in Botany in 1950. In 1971 (or 1972
), he was made a Doctor of Science (
Sc.D.
Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
) of the University of Cambridge.
Biography
Lewin spent nearly 48 years at the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (sometimes referred to as SIO, Scripps Oceanography, or Scripps) in San Diego, California, US founded in 1903, is one of the oldest and largest centers for ocean and Earth science research, public servi ...
at the
University of California at San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is th ...
and was considered a leading authority in multiple areas of marine biology.
Lewin joined the Scripps Institution as an associate professor of marine biology in 1960 and retired from that position as a full professor in 1991, remaining extremely active in laboratory and field research and lecturing nationally and internationally. He helped organize and teach courses on marine microbiology and algae for the
in Finland, Singapore, and China. He published more than 250 scientific papers, among which his 2001 review paper entitled ''More on Merde'' was an entertaining review on the worth of feces in biomedicine. He addressed this issue frankly by stating, "Whereas food has always received much attention in conversation, commerce, and the literature, the subject of feces has been comparatively neglected. To fill this lacuna, a small book on comparative
coprology
In medicine and biology, scatology or coprology is the study of feces.
Scatological studies allow one to determine a wide range of biological information about a creature, including its diet (and thus where it has been), health and diseases su ...
was recently published (Lewin 1999). The present article aims to supplement this book with a review of overlooked or new items relating to biological and medical aspects of coprology, notably chemical and microbial components of human and animal feces, their uses as fertilizers, and a few other sociological impacts."
Ralph Lewin was an
Esperantist
An Esperantist ( eo, esperantisto) is a person who speaks, reads or writes Esperanto. According to the Declaration of Boulogne, a document agreed upon at the first World Esperanto Congress in 1905, an Esperantist is someone who speaks Esperan ...
, and was Ordinary Professor (orda profesoro) at
Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj San Marino
The International Academy of Sciences San Marino ( eo, Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj San Marino, AIS) was a scientific association. It was established in 1983 and had its first convention, SUS 1, around New Year 1984 in the City of San Marin ...
, the only university in the world where all courses are studied in Esperanto.
He translated ''
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard.
The first collection of stories about the character was the book ''Winn ...
'' into Esperanto with
Ivy Kellerman Reed
Ivy Kellerman Reed (July 8, 1877 – February 7, 1968) was an American author in the international language Esperanto.
An accomplished linguist with four academic degrees for work in Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, and Persian and half a dozen modern la ...
, and was the author of ''Merde: excursions in scientific, cultural and socio-historical coprology''. (published Random House 1999, )
References
*Lewin, R.A.: More on Merde. ''Perspectives in Biology and Medicine'', 2001; 44(4): 594–607.
External links
Obituary at Scripps
American biologists
American Esperantists
1921 births
2008 deaths
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Yale University alumni
20th-century biologists
British emigrants to the United States
{{UK-biologist-stub