October 5, 1944
Dr. Warren Weaver
The Rockefeller Foundation
49 West 49th Street
New York 20, New York
Dear Warren:
I was very glad to receive your letter of September 21, and to know that you are interested
in the proposal made in my letter of August 18.
I have been thinking about the points which you raised, and, in accordance with your
suggestion that the correspondence be not delayed, I would have answered after a few
days, except that for over a week 1 have been enthusiastically investigating a method
for obtaining information about the structure of proteins which, although not new,
has never before been used effectively. This method consists in the determination
of the adsorption isotherms of water vapor on the proteins. I have found that the
data la the literature, such as those published recently by Henry Boll, can be subjected
to a theoretical analysis which leads to very definite conclusions about the way in
which the amino acid residues internet with water molecules. It seems clear that
more precise experimental data would, with this method of interpretation, yield very
interesting information about the structure of proteins, supplementing that obtained
by other methods.
I agree with your statement that there may well be more demand for well trained young
scientists than scientists to fill the jobs after the war. On the other hand, I believe
that it will be possible for us to find a number of energetic and able young men who
are sufficiently interested in the fundamental problems of science to be glad to have
the opportunity of taking part in a research project which promises to yield many
important contributions to science. There may be some difficulty in building up
a research group, because of the demand of university teaching and industrial research;
I think, however, that the period at the end of the war will be a very good one for
forming this group, because of the fact that we are now getting acquainted with a
large number of young men, and we should be able to make a very good selection from
among them, provided that we are able to attract them into this activity.
Dr. Corey and I have fifty young men and women working on our IDRO project. Of these,
fifteen or twenty have the properties desirable for employment on the proposed program
of fundamental research, and a number of these might be interested in participating
in this program. Some of the workers would presumably be obtained from other projects
and other institutions.
If it turns out that there is no surplus of trained investigators available after
the war, it might be wise to plan to carry out the program outlined in my earlier
letter over a period of about six years, rather than three years.
Dr. Warren Weaver
October 5, 1944
I believe that the techniques which have been developed for the study of proteins
and related substance, tout have not yet been effectively applied to the problems
because of the great amount of labor involved, are such as to justify a program involving
the expenditure of between $25,000 and $40,000 a year for several years, in addition
to the salaries of the principal investigators.
The techniques have been developed to such a point that the work could, I believe,
be pushed forward at a rather rapid rate without loss of efficiency. If the work
were to be spread over six or eight years rather than to be concentrated into three
or four years the total funds expended might be used somewhat more effectively.
However, I would prefer to have the work done as rapidly as possible; I am enthusiastic
to learn the answers to the most interesting questions posed for us by Nature, and
I am afraid that unless a very intensive attack is made on these problems the answers
may not be found during our lifetime.
There may be an argument in favor of an intensive attack, by many methods, on the
protein problem. I do not believe that any one method of investigation will alone
provide the solution of this problem. Instead it is, I think, probable that hints
about the solution will be given by the results of many methods of investigation,
and that the final synthesis of these hints will be made by workers who are familiar
with all of the methods and all of the results. This accomplishment may then be
expected only when a broad as well as intensive attack on the problem is being made.
The institutional cooperation which may be expected would comprise, I think, the services
of Dr. Robert B. Corey, Dr. Verner Schomaker, and myself as principal investigators,
and the sum of $5,000 annually (for molecular structure research) which has been provided
by the Institute during the past ten years. We have laboratory space and facilities
for fifteen investigators, without crowding, in addition to the anticipated number
of graduate students and other normal research men.
The development of our understanding of the fundamental physical and chemical basis
of physiological processes, for which there is such an immediate human need, will,
I believe, proceed with a rapidity incomparably greater after such a program as that
proposed has been carried to a successful conclusion than without the results of this
program.
I shall look forward to your letter.
Sincerely yours,
Linus Pauling
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