ARNON, DANIEL ISRAEL

ARNON, DANIEL ISRAEL (1910–1994), U.S. biochemist. Born in Poland, Arnon received his B.Sc. in 1932 and his Ph.D. in plant physiology in 1936 from the University of California, Berkeley, where later he became professor of cell physiology and biochemistry. After military service in World War ii, he set up and directed an experimental nutrient culture center on Ascension Island in the mid-Atlantic Ocean, for the United States Army Air Corps. Except for this military service and sabbatical leaves in England, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, and Pacific Grove, California, he spent his entire career at Berkeley. His early research was concerned with the utilization of various trace elements by plants, and led to the elucidation of the role of such metals as molybdenum and vanadium. As a result, Arnon began his studies of photosynthesis in 1948. From 1951 until the end of his life, Arnon concentrated on photosynthesis. His major contribution to science dealt with the role of light, showing how light energy is converted by the green pigment (chlorophyll) in plants to chemical energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (atp) by a phenomenon which he called photophosphorylation (photosynthetic phosphorylation), and he was the first to demonstrate complete photosynthesis outside the living cell (New York Times, December 30, 1954). Arnon received many awards for his pioneering work with photosynthesis. These included membership in the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and Academy of Arts and Sciences, election as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1962), and membership in various international learned societies.

[Sharon Zrachya (2^nd ed.)]