May 30, 1942
Dr. Alfred Mirsky
1 West 68 Street
New York, New York
Dear Alfred:
I have just received notice from the Rockefeller foundation that they have made us
an additional grant of $20,000 for research in immunochemistry during the coming year,
and so I can write to you confirming the offer of an appointment for you here. The
position would carry the title Research Associate and the salary $4,000 for the year.
The duties of the post would be definite: To carry on research in immunochemistry
as part of our program of immunochemical research supported by the Rockefeller Grant.
I know that this is not ideal for you, and that you might well prefer to stay in your
present position for a couple of years, and continue with your own interesting work,
with the expectation that a more satisfactory appointment would be arranged for you
later. I can express my feelings about the matter by discussing the three points which
you raise in your letter.
1. I agree with you that it would be fine if you could continue to work on your own
research program, without interruption. But the only funds available for your appointment
are those granted specifically for our definitely outlined program of research in
immunochemistry, and if you were to accept the appointment it would be necessary for
you to work in this field. I would be very glad indeed to have you here so that
I might discuss with you not only the work which you yourself would do, but also the
rest of the immunochemistry program. I feel that you would soon become very deeply
interested in this work, especially since the part of the work dealing with the artificial
manufacture of antibodies is so closely related to your own work on the renaturation
of proteins.
2. It would not, I am afraid, be possible for you to do any regular teaching during
the coming year. The number of students has fallen off somewhat, and we have been
eliminating some of the advanced courses for the duration of the war. We have even
been having trouble in keeping up sufficient interest in seminars. Of course, we
might well have a special seminar on immunochemistry or on our protein program in
general, and I would expect you to take an important part in this.
3. As I said to you in New York, I myself would think of your change from New York
to Pasadena as permanent, even though the appointment which can be made at present
would be for only one year. You know that the Institute is living on a somewhat hand-to-mouth
policy, and that there is not available any endowment at present permitting further
permanent expansion. But I think that there is very little doubt that our protein
research program will be continued, and that your research appointment would continue.
I would hope, of course, that in a few years a permanent arrangement for this extension
of our field of activity could be made. You know how our development of organic chemistry
took place; first we were given a grant for a six-year period, expiring two years
from now, but endowment was made available which permits the work to be continued
on a slightly restricted scale thereafter. It is true that I shall have in 1944 to
meet the problem of seeing that the decrease in our budget for organic chemistry is
satisfactorily handled.
Well, that is the situation. It is by no means ideal, and compared with your present
position it suffers from disadvantages so great that I could well understand your
decision to stay in New York. On the other hand, I think that the advantages of coming
to Pasadena might really be great enough to justify a favorable decision on your part.
Although the appointment would technically be for one year, you, as I, should consider
it as being indefinite. And I think that you would have a great opportunity, with
your extensive background of experience on handling proteins, to accomplish a tremendous
amount of work in the laboratory in this newly opened field of artificial manufacture
of antibodies. As you said to me in New York, the field is wide open, and an immense
amount of work could be done very quickly be a vigorous attack. Do you not think that
it might be worth while to give up your present interests in order to jump into this
work with me, and perhaps clear up some of the interesting questions connected with
it? When, as in this case a new technique becomes available, it is possible for very
interesting researches to be carried out quickly and relatively easily. And I am sure
that I would benefit a great deal by discussing with you all of the phases of our
program
I think, although I shall not be sure until I make a thorough study of our budget,
that we might be able to give an appointment as assistant to you to the young fellow
who is now working with you. Our stipends are of course not very large—at present
we are paying $1200 a year to the young assistants on this program.
Since I must make arrangements for the year’s work without delay, I shall look forward
to hearing from you soon. I hope that you will find it possible to overlook the disadvantages
of this scheme, to concentrate on its advantages, and to accept the appointment.
I have been so busy since getting back that I have not written to Reba to thank her
for her kindness to me in letting me stay with you in New York, and also to thank
her for the book which she left for me to read on the way home. Please give my thanks
to her, and tell her that I am hoping that you will all be out here during the summer,
settling down for your Pasadena career. Dr. Campbell will be here on July 1, returning
from Chicago, where he has been lecturing, and will begin, with his assistants, at
once to carry out his researches. Dr. Pressman, who has been hard at work for nearly
two years with no more than a week’s vacation occasionally, will probably take a vacation
of about a month in August. The Rockefeller grant on which your appointment for the
first year would be made covers the period July 1, 1942 to June 30, 1943. I hope that
it might be possible for you to come rather early in the summer, so that I might have
the benefit of your advice regarding the whole program as soon as possible. However,
I myself shall probably be away from Pasadena for about a month on a war problem,
so that this may make a complication.
Please write to me soon.
Sincerely,
Linus Pauling
