Scientist and Statesman: Ephraim Katchalski-Katzir at 80.

Abstract

During May 13-16, 1996, the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot was the host to an ititernational symposium to mark the 80th birthday of Professor Ephraim Katzir, better known to older biochemists as Ephraim Katchalski. The symposium, entitled“Perspectives in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology,” included five Nobelists-Max Perutz, Paul Berg, Arthur Kornberg, Manfred Eigen, and Edmond Fischer-with other scientists from North America and Europe and strong participation in the program by Israeli scientists. The symposium was a tribute from the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the Weizmann Institute to one of Israel’s most distinguished scientists. Born in Poland on May 16, 1916, Katchalski emigrated to Palestine in 1922 and with his brotherAharon decided, after joining the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, to pursue careers in research and teaching. This they did against a background of strife with the Arab population, in which they were soon involved by their joining the illegal Jewish defense organization, the Haganah. Katchalski has described in an autobiographical article (1) secretly manufacturing war materials at night in the research laboratory (for example, tear gas) while in his overt daytime research he was preparing and studying synthetic polypeptides, one of the contributionsforwhich he is best known. The Weizmann Institute, the successor to the Sieff Institute, was founded in 1949. Itwas named after Chaim Weizmann, himself an organic chemist, who became the first President of the State of Israel and whose career Katchalski’s has paralleled. When the State of Israel was established in 1948, it was invaded by the Arab armies and Katchaiski was placed in charge of the Israeli army science corps. Because, as Katchalski writes (1), “some of the American scientists who were (at that time) supposed to take charge of departments at the Institute were jittery about coming to Israel, Aharon was asked to be temporary head of the Department of Polymers and I was made acting head of the Department of Biophysics. These two appointments soon became permanent.” Reference should be made to Katchalski’s memoirs (1,2) for a detailed account and bibliography of his many contributions to protein chemistry, beginning with the synthetic polyaminoacids and including the preparationof immobilized enzymes, something that at the time was not recognized to be of significant industrial importance and from which the Weizmann Institute gained only a small sum from a patent, but which is now used on a large scale in industry. The most notable example is the manufacture of high fructose corn syrup, the productionof which in the United States alone in 1995 exceeded 10 million tons. Scientific recognition of this achievement came to Katchalski from the country that first exploited immobilized enzymes for industrial use. In 1985 lie was the first recipient of the Japan Prize. Katchalski continued as head of the Weizmann Department of Biophysics through 1973. He was again involved in the wars with the Arab countries, servimig during the Six Day War in 1967 as the chief scientist of the Defense Ministry and then for the five years from 1973 to 1978 was swept up completely into the affairs of his country by accepting the invitation of Prime Minister Golda Meir to be nominated forthe presidency,as a result of which he became the fourth President of the State of Israel. He has defined his presidency as beginning with the Yom Kippur War in October 1973 and ending with the surprise visit to Jerusalem by Anwar Sadat in November 1977 that opened