memorial for edward b. lewis
on monday 25 october peggy and i were fortunate to attend a memorial service in beckman auditorium at caltech for edward b. lewis, one of the foremost geneticists of the 20th century. we were invited to this rare gathering by keith lewis, ed's son and a close friend of mine from high school decades ago in the seventies in pasadena. keith also invited my brothers brian and darrell, in light of many youthful adventures we managed to survive together. (in some future post i'll recount my 21st birthday, where brian and i were invited by the bartender to leave the vananda tavern on texada island due to our unruly behavior. keith lewis, also in attendance, was sober enough to help us hitchike back to our campsite that night down the island near davies bay.)

dr. lewis, who was 86 when he passed away, won the nobel prize in 1995 for his ground breaking work in the field of developmental genetics. he first proposed a concept we now take for granted: specific sections on a gene control development of specific portions of an organism, based on his detailed studies of the bithorax complex.

the memorial ceremony honoring dr. lewis was a wonderful and upbeat event. speakers and attendees included some of the best geneticists on the planet. numerous nobel prize winners were on hand. personally i enjoyed the symmetry of simply sitting at an event in beckman auditorium involving ed lewis. this was my second time in beckman; the first was in the early 1970s at an awesome lecture on mayan mathematics by richard feynman, which i attended as a guest of ed and pam lewis.

during his turn at the podium, keith's older brother hugh told a fascinating story of one night when his father got him up before dawn. hugh was five or six years old. it was probably 1949 or 1950. they stood in the street and watched the eastern horizon until there was a flash in the sky. his father told hugh the flash was an above ground nuclear test, and it was a very bad thing that had to be stopped. in the 1950s dr. lewis drew the ire of american political hacks for speaking out about the link between radiation and cancer. his understanding of radiation and genetics led him to dissent against prevailing views on the hazards of radiation. fifty years later dr. lewis's dissenting views are now accepted as the truth. in the late 1950s he joined linus pauling, another nobel prize winning professor from caltech, and others in public opposition to above ground nuclear testing. during his moving remembrance of his father, hugh lewis publicly thanked caltech for the academic freedom they provided to his father as a scientist in pursuit of the truth.

the ceremony was closed by a stunning performance on flute by dr. lewis's music teacher, patricia farrell, from the san francisco opera.
posted by Will Ross at 22:42