Use Restrictions

The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Harold J. Morowitz papers, C0049, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Collection donated by Harold Morowitz in 1997-1998. Additional donations by Harold Morowitz in 2011 and Lucille Morowitz in 2016.

Processing Information

Processed by Special Collections Research Center staff. EAD markup completed in February 2009 by Eron Ackerman and Jordan Patty. Updated by Greta Kuriger Suiter in 2013. Additional materials processed and finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2017. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in February 2020.

This collection has additional unprocessed accessions 2021.222 and 2024.011-C, and therefore this finding aid may not be fully up to date. Please contact SCRC for more information

Biographical Information

Harold Joseph Morowitz was a biophysicist and Robinson Professor in Biology and Natural Philosophy at George Mason University. Born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on December 4, 1927, Morowitz graduated from Poughkeepsie High School in 1944. He studied at Yale University starting in 1948 and earned his Ph.D. in 1951. From 1951-1953 he was a physicist at the National Bureau of Standards. Morowitz was on the staff of the National Heart Institute from 1953-1955 before joining the faculty of Yale University in 1955. At Yale, Morowitz was associate professor of biophysics (1960-1968), professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry (1968-1988), and master of Pierson College (1981-1986). He joined the faculty of George Mason University in 1988 as a Robinson Professor. From 1993 on Morowitz directed the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study. Dr. Morowitz authored and coauthored several books, including: Life and the Physical Sciences (with Waterman), 1964; Theoretical and Mathematical Biology , 1965; Energy Flow in Biology , 1968; Entropy for Biologists (with Lucille Morowitz), 1970; Life on the Planet Earth , 1974; Ego Niches , 1977; Foundations of Bioenergetics , 1978; The Wine of Life , 1979; Mayonnaise and the Origins of Life , 1985; Cosmic Joy and Local Pain , 1987; The Thermodynamics of Pizza , 1991; Beginnings of Cellular Life (with James Trefil), 1992; The Facts of Life , 1992; and Entropy and the Magic Flute , 1993. Dr. Morowitz passed away on March 22, 2016 in Falls Church, VA.

Scope and Content

The Harold J. Morowitz papers includes a draft copy of Energy Flow in Biological Systems (published as Energy Flow in Biology ), including chapter and appendix notes, calculations for mathematical operations, and correspondence between the author and his editor; a draft copy of Beginnings of Cellular Life , including the index and notes; a draft copy of The Facts of Life with the "author's copy" and the original artwork for the illustrations; as well as working papers, correspondence, and other documents pertaining to Morowitz's academic career. Also included is original poetry written by Morowitz, research and correspondence from a project on the history of bioenergetics, for which Morowitz was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1980, and correspondence and documents relating to Biosphere 2.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in original and acquisition order.

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center also holds the Carol D. Litchfield Microbiology collection and the Clarence E. Larson Science and Technology Oral History collection.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Biochemistry.
• Biophysics.
• College teachers--Virginia--Fairfax.
• Molecular biology.
• Philosophy.
• Poetry.
• Science