Background
Beckwith, Jonathan Roger was born on December 25, 1935 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Son of Manuel and Mildred Beckwith.
( In 1969, Jon Beckwith and his colleagues succeeded in i...)
In 1969, Jon Beckwith and his colleagues succeeded in isolating a gene from the chromosome of a living organism. Announcing this startling achievement at a press conference, Beckwith took the opportunity to issue a public warning about the dangers of genetic engineering. Jon Beckwith's book, the story of a scientific life on the front line, traces one remarkable man's dual commitment to scientific research and social responsibility over the course of a career spanning most of the postwar history of genetics and molecular biology. A thoroughly engrossing memoir that recounts Beckwith's halting steps toward scientific triumphs--among them, the discovery of the genetic element that turns genes on--as well as his emergence as a world-class political activist, Making Genes, Making Waves is also a compelling history of the major controversies in genetics over the last thirty years. Presenting the science in easily understandable terms, Beckwith describes the dramatic changes that transformed biology between the late 1950s and our day, the growth of the radical science movement in the 1970s, and the personalities involved throughout. He brings to light the differing styles of scientists as well as the different ways in which science is presented within the scientific community and to the public at large. Ranging from the travails of Robert Oppenheimer and the atomic bomb to the Human Genome Project and recent "Science Wars," Beckwith's book provides a sweeping view of science and its social context in the latter half of the twentieth century.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674009282/?tag=2022091-20
Beckwith, Jonathan Roger was born on December 25, 1935 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Son of Manuel and Mildred Beckwith.
Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry, Harvard University, 1957. Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Sciences, Harvard University, 1961. Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), University Massachusetts, Lowell, 2005.
Teaching assistant University Illinois, Urbana, 1960. Member faculty Harvard Medical School, since 1965, associate department bacteriology and immunology, 1965, assistant professor department bacteriology and immunology, 1966—1968, associate professor department bacteriology and immunology, 1968—1969, professor department bacteriology and immunology, since 1969, professor department microbiology and molecular genetics, since 1969, American Cancer Society professor, department microbiology and molecular genetics, since 1971, chairman department microbiology and molecular genetics, 1971—1973, director genetics training grant, 1975—2000. American Cancer Society research professor, since 1980.
Member scientific advisory board New England BioLabs, Beverly, Massachusetts, 1981—1991, International Institute of Genetics and Biophysics, Naples, Italy, 1986—1990, Center for Microbial Sciences, San Diego, since 2002. Visiting professor University California, Berkeley, 1985. Member advisory board Council for Responsible Genetics, since 1985, Eritrean Relief Committee, since 1985, Program in Science, Technology and Society Program, Kennedy School Government, Harvard University, since 2002.
Member Working Group on Ethical, Legal and Social Implications of the Human Genome Project, National Center for Human Genome Research, National Institutes of Health, 1989—1995. President board directors Science for the People, 1990—1993. Samuel Rudin visiting professor Columbia University College of Physicans & Surgeons, 1991.
Consultant Genentech Corporation, 1994—1998. Member Behavioral Genetics Working Group, Hastings Center, 2000—2002. Speaker in field.
( In 1969, Jon Beckwith and his colleagues succeeded in i...)
Published Genetic Discrimination as a Consequence of Genetic Testing, 1992, The Responsibilities of Scientists in the Genetics and Race Controversies, 1997, (memoir) Making Genes, Making Waves: A Social Activist in Science, 2002., author scientific publications. Contributor articles to professional journals.
Member of several editorial boards.
Fellow American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Academy of Microbiology. Member National Academy of Sciences (Selman A. Waksman award in microbiology, 2009), American Academy Arts and Sciences, European Molecular Biology Organization (associate), American Society Experimental Biologists, American Society Microbiology (Abbott-American Society for Microbiology Lifetime Achievement award, 2005), Genetics Society of America (medal, 1993), Phi Beta Kappa (honorary).
Married Barbara Shutt, December 26, 1960. Children– Benjamin Hunter, Anthony Rhys.