Detlev Wulf Bronk (August 13, 1897 – November 17, 1975) was a prominent American scientist, educator, and administrator. He is credited with establishing biophysics as a recognized discipline. Bronk served as president of Johns Hopkins University from 1949 to 1953 and as president of The Rockefeller University from 1953 to 1968. Bronk also held the presidency 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 ...

between 1950 and 1962.

Biography

Bronk was a descendant of Pieter Bronck, an early settler to New Netherland for whose relative

Jonas Bronck Jonas Bronck (alternatively Jonas Jonsson Brunk, Jonas Jonasson Bronk, or Jonas Jonassen Bronck) was born around year 1600 and died in 1643. Bronck was an immigrant to the Dutch colony of New Netherland after whom the Bronx River, and by extension ...

the New York City borough The Bronx is named. Bronk graduated from Swarthmore with a B.S. in electrical engineering, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. In September 1921 Bronk married Helen Alexander Ramsey, who had been a fellow student at Swarthmore. Turning to physics, he received an M.S. in 1922 from the University of Michigan. By 1924 he was intent on applying physics and mathematics to physiology, receiving a Ph.D. in 1926 from the University of Michigan.

Career

When Bronk was offered the presidency of Johns Hopkins University in 1948, he accepted the position on the condition that Hopkins strengthen its program in biophysics. Hopkins did just that, building Jenkins Hall in 1950 specifically to house Biophysics and adding faculty and research facilities. Bronk believed the nation's universities had a responsibility to prepare students to improve the world, regardless of their academic curriculum. He also recognized that, during World War II, the Hopkins faculty had spent most of their time performing defense-related research, and now it was time to rejuvenate the idea of research for the sake of learning and discovery. He frequently spoke on "breadth in education," "fostering curiosity," and "a university is a community of scholars."Frank Brink, Jr., Detlev Wulf Bronk: 1897-1975 (National Academy of Sciences), 1979 In addition to guiding Hopkins through its post-war "demobilization," Bronk believed strongly in maintaining his own presence in the scientific community. He presided over the National Academy of Sciences and served on boards for the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Science Advisory Committee of the Office of Defense Mobilization, and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (predecessor to NASA). Bronk was also instrumental in reviving a plan to abolish undergraduate education at Johns Hopkins and turn Hopkins into a graduate-only institution. In 1952, as in 1925, the "New Plan" or "Bronk Plan" would have phased out the freshman and sophomore years and Hopkins would only admit students transferring from other institutions as juniors or above. These students would bypass the traditional undergraduate degree and begin work immediately toward a doctorate. As in 1925, the plan attracted little support from the intended student body and it was quietly dropped by the mid-1950s after Prof. Sidney Flax said "no". From 1953 to 1968 Bronk was president of The Rockefeller University. (The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research was renamed The Rockefeller University in 1965). He firmly espoused academic freedom and resisted attempts by Wisconsin Senator

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...

to have Johns Hopkins University dismiss Professor Owen Lattimore. The same year he was awarded the Public Welfare Medal from the

. He was credited with formulating the modern theory of the science of biophysics.The Twentieth Century. 11 Alfred Newton Richards: Biomedical Research
repository.upenn.edu He served on the board of trustees for Science Service, now known as Society for Science & the Public, from 1965 to 1967. Bronk is quoted as saying:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bronk, Detlev Wulf 1897 births 1975 deaths American biophysicists Foreign Members of the Royal Society Swarthmore College alumni Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Presidents of Johns Hopkins University Presidents of Rockefeller University University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni University of Michigan faculty University of Pennsylvania faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Presidents of the United States National Academy of Sciences National Medal of Science laureates Scientists from New York City United States Army Science Board people Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences