Richard Y. Morita Papers, 1949-2005

Title: Richard Y. Morita Papers, 1949-2005

ID: MSS Morita

Primary Creator: Morita, R. Y. (Richard Y.)

Extent: 1.6 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The Morita Papers are arranged in 5 series: 1. Biographical Information, 1953-2000; 2. Correspondence, 1949-2005; 3. Grant Projects, 1964-1988; 4. Publication Contracts and Financial Records, 1962-1997; and 5. Photographs, 1949-1972.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The Richard Y. Morita Papers document the academic career and professional activities of Richard Yukio Morita, primarily his research in marine microbiology and marine ecology.  The Papers consist primarily of correspondence and also include biographical information, grant records, publication contracts, and photographs.  The correspondence includes extensive correspondence between Morita and his mentor and graduate advisor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Claude E. ZoBell, as well as other collaborators and scientific colleagues.  Correspondence and related materials document Morita’s numerous publications of journal articles, book chapters, and monographs.  Morita participated in some of the first expeditions to study the deep sea in the 1950s and 1960s.  These expeditions and the resulting scientific outcomes are extensively documented in this collection.

Materials documenting Morita’s research on the interaction of pressure and temperature on marine bacteria, microorganisms in extreme environments, and bacteria in oligotrophic (nutrient poor) environments form the bulk of this collection.

The biographical materials include an in-depth autobiographical essay in which Morita describes his childhood in southern California; his incarceration as a Japanese American during World War II and subsequent military service; and his education and career.  Morita’s numerous awards and recognitions are documented in the collection as well as his roles in the scientific community as a reviewer, consultant, journal editor, and organizer of symposia.

Richard Y. Morita was a faculty member in microbiology and oceanography at Oregon State University from 1962 through 1988 and pursued an active research program as a Professor Emeritus of Microbiology and Oceanography from 1989 through the early 2000s.

Richard Yukio Morita was born on March 27, 1923 in Pasadena, California. He graduated from Pasadena High School in 1941. In 1942 the Morita family was forced to enter an concentration camp; they were first sent to Tulare Assembly Center in southern California, and then to the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona. Richard Morita left the camp later in 1942 to attend the University of Nebraska, but was drafted into and served in the U. S. Army 442^nd Regiment Combat Team in 1944-1946. Afterwards, he earned a B.S. in Bacteriology-Chemistry from the University of Nebraska in 1947, an M.S. in Bacteriology from the University of Southern California in 1949, and a Ph. D. in Microbiology-Oceanography from the University of California, Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1954, where he was the first Nisei (second-generation Japanese American) to graduate. He held several assistant professorships before coming to OSU, where he was an Associate Professor of Microbiology and Oceanography in 1962-1964. In 1964 he became a full Professor at OSU, a post he held until 1988. OSU granted him Professor Emeritus status in 1989. He also served as program director for biochemistry at the National Science Foundation in 1968-1969. Morita married Toshiko Nishihara on March 14, 1953 and they had three children: Sally Jean, Ellen Jane, and Peter Wayne. He was the likely the first Nisei in biological oceanography, and one of the first Nisei with academic rank in microbiology.

During his career, Morita was part of several large research expeditions. He was a microbiologist for three of them: the Mid-Pacific Expedition of 1950 (where he was the first microbiologist to study the deep sea), the 1952 Royal Danish Navy Galathea Deep Sea Expedition, and the Trans-Pacific Expedition of 1953. In 1962 he was an invited investigator for Expedition Dodo. Morita studied microbiology in extreme earth environments, including the polar regions and the deep sea. Some of his important contributions to the field include: the discovery of barophiles (pressure loving bacteria) with his mentor Dr. Claude ZoBell; demonstrating that enzyme reactions can occur over 100°C; the discovery of psychrophiles (cold-loving bacteria); the concept of starvation-survival in bacteria; and with Francisco Torrella, the discovery that the marine environment has many phage particles. The genus Moritella was named after him to honor his work in marine microbiology. Several significant awards he received include the Fisher Scientific Company Award from the American Society of Microbiology in 1988; a Queen Elizabeth II Senior Fellowship from the Australian Government, 1973-1974; a King Fredericus IX Medal and Ribbon for participating in the Galathea Expedition; a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship 1978, and an honorary membership in the American Society of Microbiology, 1990

More Extent Information: 75 photographs; 3 boxes

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The bulk of the materials were donated by Richard Morita in 2002; small additions to the collection were received in 2004 and 2009.

Related Materials:

A 2010 oral history interview of Morita is part of the Voices of Oregon State University Oral History Collection (OH 009) and additional materials pertaining to Morita are part of the Oregon Multicultural Communities Research Collection (MSS OMCRC).  The Special Collections and Archives Research Center’s holding include several collections documenting microbiology research and teaching at Oregon State including the Microbiology Department Records (RG 191) and the papers of other microbiology faculty John L. Fryer and Paul R. Elliker.

The Scripps Institution of Oceanography conducted an extensive oral history interview of Dr. Morita in 2006.  A transcript of the interview is available online.

Preferred Citation: Richard Y. Morita Papers (MSS Morita), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Morita, R. Y. (Richard Y.)
Colwell, Rita R. (1934-)
ZoBell, Claude E. (1904-1989)

Colwell, Rita R., 1934-
History of Science
Marine ecology--Research.
Marine microbial ecology
Microbiology--Research--Oregon.
Morita, R. Y. (Richard Y.)
Oceanography--Research--Oregon.
Oregon Multicultural Archives
Oregon State University. Department of Microbiology
Psychrophilic bacteria
Scientific expeditions.
University History
ZoBell, Claude E., 1904-1989.

Photographic prints.
Photomicrographs.