THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY

pro bono humani generis
1230 YORK AVENUE - NEW YORK, NEW YORK. 10021-6399

Joshua Lederberg
UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR

September 21, 1992
Dr. Fred W. McLafferty
Accounts of Chemical Research

Dear Fred:

Thank you for asking me to join you on ACR. In fact, I do already subscribe, and get
enormous profit from the odd article that does intersect my personal interests. You had some
lately on RNA and on fullerenes that were outstanding!

What I have much too little focussed time for would be:

a) close editorial review of mss., unless on a subject quite central to my current research
interests, and

b) personally hounding authors and reviewers to get them to agree or deliver about their
assignments.

What I think I could help you with would be
Cc) suggesting specific authors and articles, and
d) overall directions and strategies for the journal.

The latter two seem to be what you were asking, but I wanted to be doubly sure what was in
the contract. But, unfortunately, I won’t be at the ACS.

Your remarks about "broadening horizons" does appeal to me; and I would be particularly
interested in suggesting themes that reflect the major opus of a given author’s lifework (or
chapter thereof) - not quite personal autobiographies, but, if you like, the biography of a
scientific challenge in which the author has played a significant role. As I believe molecular
biology is now thoroughly legitimated, I venture to suggest Charlie Yanofsky as a prototype
of this kind of article. And look to John Drake for the (amazingly indirect) pathways
involved in chemical mutagenesis. Turning to another field, perhaps Frank Field would be
another. And I’d like to see an update on the cosmogony of the chemical elements, and
another (briefly foreshadowed in the fullerene piece) on molecular condensation: from plasma
to stars, planets and comets.

Yes, Iam a fan of ACR; it is one of my lasting regrets that I never did write an article on
DENDRAL that I had promised to your predecessor -- was that Barnette?

So, if the above is agreeable to you, my answer would be yes.

ours sincerely,

Stee ODSa,,
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