The world has lost one of its great scientists and the University of California its most influential educator with the death of Daniel E. Koshland Jr. His career spanned 60 years of creative biochemical research, and he was actively planning his next experiments just days before his sudden death. Those of us fortunate enough to have experienced Dan’s extraordinary personality will always remember his wisdom, sharp wit, and kindness, especially toward students and young scientists.
My first encounter with Dan was in 1969, when I was an undergraduate student in his renowned biochemistry class. He invariably started his lectures with some hilarious joke. However, we soon realized that Dan was both funny and very serious about science. Somehow he managed to teach us more about protein chemistry and the properties of biological macromolecules in 10 weeks than we thought possible.
Dan’s scientific contributions, especially “induced fit,” continue to influence our thinking today about how proteins and protein complexes work, from enzymes and receptors to transcription factors and signaling molecules. As befits Dan’s bold and creative science, he received many awards including the National Medal of Science (1990), the Albert Lasker Award for special achievement in medical science (1998), and the Welch Award in Chemistry (2006).
Not one to shirk responsibility or community service, Dan was elected president of the board at his children’s school in Brookhaven, Long Island, became chairman of biochemistry at Berkeley, took on the editorship of PNAS, and in 1985 became editor-in-chief of Science magazine. He was also an exceptionally generous philanthropist - a long tradition of the extended Koshland family.
Of all the “extracurricular” activities that Dan embraced, the one that stands out in my mind (and I believe in his) was spearheading the radical reorganization of the biological sciences at Cal, realigning faculty into three major departments. His leadership and philanthropy continues today with the next phase of the reorganization, which includes the recently completed Stanley Hall building and the new Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences.
Dan’s passing is a huge loss for science, UC Berkeley, his family, and the Bay Area - a loss too difficult for me to contemplate. Dan was more than a scientific role model - he was my hero, best friend, and trusted advisor, an extraordinary human being with an unwavering moral compass. His humor, humanity, and wit will be sorely missed.
- Robert Tjian
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology,Howard Hughes Medical Institute
