September 7, 1967

Dr. Kermit Gordon
President

Brookings Institution
Washington, D.C,

Dear Dr. Gordon:

After our very gratifying conversation last spring I feel I should

keep you up to date with respect to my intentions about spending some
time in Washington. For the time being I decided to postpone any ex-—
tended translocation but when the right time does arrive I am sure

that I will want to turn back to you again to ask about the possibility
of some personal arrangement with the Brookings Institution. For the
moment, however, any such plans will have to be in cold storage. I _-
have decided to take an appointment to Yhe National Mental Health ~
Council as one way of participating in some science politdéaal affairs

during the next couple of years. However this will only involve the i
usual few brief trips a year. >

=
I would also like to take the opportunity to intreduce to you the name Sy
of Dr. Alexander Hollaender who has also written the enclosed prospectus. =

I suggest that his ideas deserve to be taken rather more seriously than
the tone of this document might lead you to. It does read rather too
much like an industrial proposal and this does not do justice to either
the sincerity or the probable quality of what Dr. Hollaender and his
group could put into such an enterprise,

You will be able to look him up in the usual bibliographic sources but
let me just say that he has been Director of the Blology Division of the
Oak Ridge National Laboratories for the past twenty years. By universal
acclaimation he has done a splendid job in the organization and mainten-
ance of the quality and morale of that organization. In particular he
showed great wisdom and effectiveness in maintaining the proper balance
Dr. Kermit Gordon
page two
September 7, 1967

between satisfying applied demands related to the atomic energy mission
of those laboratories and the continuation of an atmosphere in which
first class basic research could flourish. Dr. Hollaender has just re-
tired from that position - he is now approaching the age of 69; he is
nevertheless an extremely alert and effective person with very broad
interests and very many contacts throughout world biology. I do not
know exactly what form his proposed organization should take but it is
idealistically motivated and I believe it would be worth any time that
you could give to talk with him to help with its orientation and realiza-
tion. I might even make the presumptuous suggestion that some form of
affiliation with the Bookings Institution might be mutually profitable.

You will, I think, see some parallelism between the aims of the planning
activities that Dr. Hollaender contémplates and some ot the kinds of work
that I had in mind for myself as a Washington experience.

At any rate I hope this letter may serve to introduce him to you when he
seeks to make an appointment at some time in the mext several weeks.

Yours sincerely,

Joshua Lederberg
Professor of Medicine
JL:bm

bec: Dr. Alexander Hollaender