December 15, 1951

Dear Josh, |

Te sf story (ugh!) will be ulong shorty - it's still being checked
by H&K Mitchell. I's not genetic enuf for Genetics I think so J Bact
might be the best place.

\inat I want to discuss with you is the ,ossibility of working in your
group next year. 1 mentioned in the vrevious letter tnat I did not think I'd
stay here another year. ipere are defigite reasons that I don't want to go
farther of course. It's just that the interaction of Vandy and Nelly don't

work out:

(1) It is the expressed volicy of VU (from the highest source, not
devartmental) that VU should strive to be a shining example of
the liberal arts college and not emulate MIT, CalTech, Columbia,
etc., go-culled, and I quote: "technological und professional
universities...with weak undeggruduate colleges..." Ha! 1 haven't
seen an undergrad here tne OME & CalTech undergrad's books.
With this in mind you see thut it would be difficult to establish
any*sort of physical set-up for experimental work in microorganismal
genetics. Classical biology - taxonomy - and erology are Ok.
Of course 1 could get outside funds - there is a, parently little
in the U regardless of the campaign promises,

(2) Tye utrnosphere is hardly stimulating. Of course there are some good
men here. H. ¢. Bold is an interesting chap (incidentally lioewus
sent his strains und they are alive!) and turns out research,

taxononic.e Wolf the fungologist you know - he's doing some
research - inoculates minimal medium ,lus amino ccids and vit-arnins

with isolated syores to detect biochem mutants (no UV, ete.) - so
tar he hasn't gotten any. Iida kmcVegigh you know. aaother gal is an
ecologist. -+here is a vert morph and embryol who does no work that
i can see and another new man ~ a chigger taxonomist. Yeacon, the
head, is u pleasant and interesting fellow but doesn't work either.
Only two of the grad students know what's going on. The faculty
spends most of its time discussing courses, students' grades, and
every so often Delbruck (in the form of an Orwellian haute session).

(¢) I am the physiologist. However the ex-physiologist mey come back.
No one snows. Jhat means that I may stay .no teach bacteriology
to engineers nd nurses, tknough said.

However i've been sufficiently politic enough not to iet my cpinions show

1 get along with everybody.
at the present I am doing a little bit of research - to the limits
ot time and material equicments :

(a) If bacterial cells fuse in syngamy the rrsultant zygote might
(just might) be phage sensitive. Therefore, by crossing
Kl2e/2 X Klg/4 and adding marked T2 end T4 to get multiple
infection we would have the -ossibility of recombination of
phage occurring within recombining bacteria. why? Phage
recoubineuts, if recovered, would therefore indicate the
probable fusion of the bucterial cells. There are technical
difficulties - I know.

(b) Tpe time of synapsis of the bacterial chromosomes might be
pinned down by UV mixtures of syngaiing cells. The UV
will play havoc with cross over frequencies, if we may
extrupolate from Drosophilae

I still huven't given up the idea of lookinz for u cateluseless or
rather, c:teluseintermediate (with a screwed cutalese molecule, enzynatically
speaking) ki. lysodeixticus (catalase being crystallizuble and 25 of the dry weight
of the cell). ‘*he only trouble is the screenines mediun - some at empts have
filed but i have other ideas.

Have you tried to cross diploids?

Lastly several s- types when intercrossed throw sf progeny in part.
i hope to find the sf differentictédg from the zygote by the use of TPT
under 4 decent iicroscope. Byt IT agree with you - the cytolcsical dervonstration
is nice but not necessary. What heppened to those slides of heterozygotes
witn 4 Robinow bodies?

I have one other iron in the fire. The Air Force hus an operations
research croup and they wish me to upply for « »osition as an Intellisence
Specialist (that's sticking their necks out}. The pay is tremendous but
(a) I don't know what they want ne to do sn? they won't tellrme either
because it's ail clessified or else they don't know, and (b) there is the
none too considerable zrobiem of one’, conscience as VeayonS Maker.

reseullehs from Val Tech is siim. leg xyeb writes nothine cbcut her
research except that my mitaunt hunt method is too much work.

Tere is no news from the rest. I may call atwood when I drive east
for an interview with the sir force.

The Papers book is u murvelous idea. set'.
csopeated every 5 yearsSe
sincerely,

HUA

fou have been inentified by two of my genetics cluss as being "a German geneticist"
and a third thinks you are a German working with eugenics. Of course this is

the smue group that think hiuller rormulauted tae chromosimel theory cf heredity
and that Trofim Lysenko worked out the genetics of Jeurosporae