David Rockwell Goddard (January 3, 1908 – July 9, 1985) was an American

plant physiologist Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Closely related fields include plant morphology (structure of plants), plant ecology (interactions with the environment), phytochemistry (bio ...

. National Academies Press:Biographical Memoirs:David Rockwell Goddard:by Ralph O. Erickson
/ref>
/ref> Goddard was most known for his contributions to the large-scale production of

penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' moulds, principally '' P. chrysogenum'' and '' P. rubens''. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using ...

bacitracin Bacitracin is a polypeptide antibiotic. It is a mixture of related cyclic peptides produced by ''Bacillus licheniformis'' bacteria, that was first isolated from the variety "Tracy I" ( ATCC 10716) in 1945. These peptides disrupt Gram-positive bac ...

and vitamin B2 in World War II. His later research showed a relation between the respiratory chains in plants and animals. Goddard was a member of the

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 ...

, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the chairman of the Division of Biology and the university provost at the University of Pennsylvania. Goddard was also president of the

American Society of Plant Physiologists American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, the Society of General Physiologists and the Society for the Study and Development of Growth. He was also home secretary for the

. The University of Pennsylvania established the David Goddard Laboratories as part of Richards Medical Research Laboratories. '' The New York Times'' called Goddard a "leading plant expert".

Inventions

Work that Goddard participated in at, what was then, the Rockefeller Institute, inspired by

Leonor Michaelis Leonor Michaelis (16 January 1875 – 8 October 1949) was a German biochemist, physical chemist, and physician, known for his work with Maud Menten on enzyme kinetics in 1913, as well as for work on enzyme inhibition, pH and quinones. E ...

, in the early 1930s, led indirectly to the discovery of simple methods of permanently modifying the shape of hair by reducing the disulfide bonds in keratin (hair protein). The basic chemistry of this discovery was adapted into the technology known in the hairdressing industry as a cold wave, using chemical derivatives of the reagent,

thioglycolic acid Thioglycolic acid (TGA) is the organic compound HSCH2CO2H. TGA is often called mercaptoacetic acid (MAA). It contains both a thiol ( mercaptan) and carboxylic acid functional groups. It is a colorless liquid with a strongly unpleasant odor. TGA i ...

, that he identified as suitable for this purpose. Goddard was only interested in the, considerable, scientific implications of this discovery, and refused any suggestion of attempting to patent the process.

Awards and Distinctions

* 1948 THE STEPHEN HALES PRIZE for research of respiration and respiratory enzymes American Society of Plant Physiologists

Family

Goddard was the son of Pliny Earle Goddard, American linguist and ethnologist noted for his extensive documentation of the languages and cultures of the

Athabaskan Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, Pacific C ...

peoples of western North America.

External links

* Finding aid to th
David Rockwell Goddard papers
at th
University of Pennsylvania Libraries

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goddard, David R. 1908 births 1985 deaths American physiologists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Plant physiologists 20th-century American botanists University of Pennsylvania faculty University of Pennsylvania Department of Biology faculty Members of the American Philosophical Society