David E. Metzler (1924–2013) was a professor of biochemistry who spent most of his research career at Iowa State University.

Early life and education

Metzler was born on August 12, 1924, in Palo Alto, California, and was raised in Fresno. He attended the California Institute of Technology as an undergraduate, where

Linus Pauling Linus Carl Pauling (; February 28, 1901August 19, 1994) was an American chemist, biochemist, chemical engineer, peace activist, author, and educator. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific top ...

was his major professor. He was a pacifist, and a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

during World War II, and was obligated to pause his studies for public service, which included fighting

forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

s and working as an analytical chemist. After completing his studies at Caltech, Metzler began his graduate work at the University of Wisconsin, where he received his Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1952 under the supervision of Esmond Snell. He then spent a year as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas (where Snell had moved).

Academic career

Metzler joined the faculty at Iowa State University in 1953 and would remain there for the rest of his scientific career. He was admitted to the Iowa Academy of Sciences in 1961, spent six months on a

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

-sponsored exchange trip to the Soviet Union in 1965, was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

in 1970-71, and became a distinguished professor in sciences and humanities at Iowa State in 1986. In 1977 he published the first edition of a major biochemistry textbook, ''Biochemistry: The Chemical Reactions of Living Cells''. The second edition in 2003, co-authored with his wife and longtime coworker Carol Metzler, was reviewed as exceptionally thorough and useful as a reference text.

Personal life

Metzler married Elizabeth Heron in 1948 while he was in graduate school. They had five children, but were divorced in 1977, and he married Carol Harris in 1978, who spent many years working as a researcher and technician in his laboratory. He was a long-time member of the Ames Choral Society. Metzler died in 2013 at age 89.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metzler, David E. 1924 births 2013 deaths Scientists from Palo Alto, California People from Ames, Iowa University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Iowa State University faculty American biochemists