C. B. van Niel | |
|---|---|
| Born | Cornelis Bernardus van Niel (1897-11-04)November 4, 1897 Haarlem, Netherlands |
| Died | March 10, 1985(1985-03-10) (aged 87) Carmel, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | TU Delft |
| Known for | Chemistry ofphotosynthesis |
| Awards | National Medal of Science (1963) Leeuwenhoek Medal (1970) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Microbiology |
| Institutions | Hopkins Marine Station |
| Doctoral advisor | Albert Kluyver |
| Doctoral students | Roger Stanier |
| Signature | |
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Cornelis Bernardus van Niel (also known as Kees van Niel; November 4, 1897 – March 10, 1985) was a Dutch-Americanmicrobiologist. He introduced the study of generalmicrobiology to the United States and made key discoveries explaining thechemistry ofphotosynthesis.[1]
In 1923, Cornelis van Niel graduated in chemical engineering atDelft University and became an assistant toAlbert Kluyver, who had initiated the field of comparative biochemistry. In 1925 he married Christina van Hemert in Bloemendaal, North Holland, Netherlands. In 1928 he wrote his PhD dissertation ('ThePropionic Acid Bacteria') after which he left for the United States to continue his work at theHopkins Marine Station ofStanford University.
By studyingpurple sulphur bacteria andgreen sulphur bacteria he was the first scientist to demonstrate, in 1931, that photosynthesis is alight-dependentredox reaction[2] in whichhydrogen from anoxidizable compoundreducescarbon dioxide to cellular materials. Expressed as:
where A is theelectron acceptor. His discovery predicted that H2O is the hydrogen donor in green plant photosynthesis and is oxidized to O2. The chemical summation of photosynthesis was a milestone in the understanding of the chemistry of photosynthesis. This was later experimentally verified byRobert Hill.
In a nutshell, van Niel proved that plants give off oxygen as a result of splitting water molecules during photosynthesis, not carbon dioxide molecules as thought before.
Van Niel also played a key role in the development ofbacterial taxonomy.[1] In 1962, van Niel in collaboration withRoger Y. Stanier definedprokaryotes as cells in which the nuclear material is not surrounded by anuclear membrane, a definition that is still used to date.[3]
Shortly after his arrival atHopkins Marine Station, van Niel developed a course in general microbiology which was to become widely influential.[1] During its run from 1938 to 1962, the course drew students from around the world, and included several accomplished scientists among its alumni, includingEsther Lederberg andAllan Campbell.[4][5] and Arthur Kornberg, the recipient of the 1959 Nobel prize for DNA synthesis.
Van Niel was the first biologist to receive the AmericanNational Medal of Science;[6] he was awarded the 1963 Medal in biological sciences for "his fundamental investigations of the comparative biochemistry of microorganisms, for his studies of the basic mechanisms of photosynthesis, and for his excellence as a teacher of many scientists."[7] Additional awards include:
van Niel was elected to the United StatesNational Academy of Sciences in 1945 and theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1948.[8][9] In 1950 van Niel became a correspondent of theRoyal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and was elected to theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1950.[10][11]
