Melvin Calvin

Melvin Calvin April 8th 1911 with Saint Paul, Minnesota - January 8th 1997 was an American biochemist .

After studies in Michigan and Minnesota it obtained its doctorate in Manchester. It Maria with Genevieve Jemtegaard with whom he had two girls and a son.

He became instructor at the University of California in 1937 then chemistry teacher ten years later. In 1963 it obtained the title of professor of molecular biology. It took its retirement in 1980.

Using the Carbon-14 like a Tracer , Calvin and his team charted the complete road of carbon through a plant during the Photosynthèse, starting since its absorption like atmospheric Carbon dioxide with its conversion into carbohydrates and others made up organics. By doing that, the group of Calvin showed that the sunlight acts on the Chlorophylle in a plant to feed the construction of the organic compounds, rather than carbon dioxide as one believed previously. In its last years of active research, he studied the producing use of oil plants like a renewable energy source. He spent also much years testing the chemical evolution of the life and writes a book on this subject published in 1969. He studied also the organic Géochimie, the chemical Carcinogénèse and lunar rocks analyzes it.

Calvin became foreign member of the Royal Society the April 23rd 1959. Among the many rewards which it obtained note the Nobel Prize of chemistry in 1961 and the Davy Médaille in 1964.

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