Aaron Novick

1919 - 2000

Aaron Novick: Architect of the Molecular Revolution

Aaron Novick (1919–2000) was a pivotal figure in the mid-20th-century transformation of biology from a descriptive science into a rigorous, molecular discipline. A chemist by training who cut his teeth on the Manhattan Project, Novick transitioned into biology under the mentorship of Leo Szilard. He is best remembered for inventing the chemostat—a device that revolutionized the study of microbial evolution—and for founding one of the world’s first interdisciplinary institutes for molecular biology.

1. Biography: From Nuclear Physics to the Living Cell

Aaron Novick was born on June 22, 1919, in Toledo, Ohio. A precocious student, he entered the University of Chicago at age 16, earning his B.S. in 1940 and his Ph.D. in Physical Organic Chemistry in 1943.

His early career was defined by the exigencies of World War II. Novick was recruited into the Manhattan Project, working first at the University of Chicago’s "Metallurgical Laboratory" and later at Los Alamos. He was a witness to the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction (CP-1) led by Enrico Fermi in 1942.

After the war, like many physicists and chemists of his generation (most notably Francis Crick and Max Delbrück), Novick became disillusioned with the destructive potential of nuclear science and fascinated by the "secret of life." In 1947, he joined the "Phage Group," an informal network of scientists applying the precision of the physical sciences to genetics. In 1959, he moved to the University of Oregon, where he served as the founding director of the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) until 1980, remaining active in research until his death on December 21, 2000.

2. Major Contributions: The Steady State of Discovery

Novick’s primary contribution to science was the development of tools and frameworks to study biological processes in real-time.

The Chemostat (1950): Collaborating with Leo Szilard, Novick invented the chemostat, a device for the continuous culture of microorganisms. Before the chemostat, bacteria were grown in "batch cultures" (flasks), where conditions constantly changed as nutrients were depleted and waste built up. The chemostat allowed scientists to keep a population of bacteria in a "steady state" by constantly adding fresh medium and removing excess culture. This allowed for the first precise measurements of mutation rates and the effects of specific nutrients on growth.
Gene Regulation and Induction: Novick was a pioneer in understanding how genes are "turned on and off." Working with Milton Weiner, he demonstrated that enzyme induction in E. coli was an "all-or-none" phenomenon at the level of the individual cell. This work provided critical experimental support for the operon model later popularized by Jacques Monod and François Jacob.
Bacterial Evolution: Using the chemostat, Novick was able to observe evolution in action. He tracked how populations of bacteria adapted to low-nutrient environments over hundreds of generations, providing a quantitative basis for modern evolutionary biology.

3. Notable Publications

"Description of the Chemostat" (1950, Science): Co-authored with Leo Szilard, this paper introduced the world to continuous culture technology.
"Experiments with the Chemostat on Spontaneous Mutations of Bacteria" (1950, PNAS): This work established the mathematical rigor required to study genetic mutation in populations.
"Enzyme Induction as an All-or-None Phenomenon" (1957, PNAS): A landmark paper (with Milton Weiner) that clarified the mechanics of how cells respond to their chemical environment.
"Growth of Bacteria" (1955, Annual Review of Microbiology): A definitive synthesis of microbial physiology that influenced a generation of researchers.

4. Awards & Recognition

While Novick did not receive a Nobel Prize, his peers recognized him as a foundational architect of his field. His honors included:

Presidential Certificate of Merit (1946): For his contributions to the Manhattan Project.
Guggenheim Fellowship (1952): Which allowed him to work at the Institut Pasteur in Paris.
Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences: Elected for his contributions to the biological sciences.
The Oregon Scientist of the Year (1980): Recognizing his role in building the state's scientific infrastructure.

5. Impact & Legacy

Novick’s legacy is twofold: technological and institutional.

Technological

The chemostat remains a staple of modern biotechnology. It is used today in everything from the industrial production of insulin to the study of antibiotic resistance and "directed evolution" in laboratory settings.

Institutional

By founding the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) at the University of Oregon in 1959, Novick created a blueprint for interdisciplinary research. He insisted that physicists, chemists, and biologists should share the same space and equipment—a radical idea at the time. Under his leadership, the IMB became a world-class center, recruiting luminaries like Franklin Stahl (of the Meselson-Stahl experiment).

6. Collaborations

Novick was a quintessential "collaborative" scientist, often preferring the role of the experimentalist who brought theoretical ideas to life.

Leo Szilard: The Hungarian-American physicist was Novick’s closest intellectual partner. Their "odd couple" dynamic—Szilard the visionary theorist and Novick the meticulous experimentalist—yielded the chemostat.
The Institut Pasteur Group: During his time in Paris, Novick collaborated with Jacques Monod and François Jacob, contributing to the intellectual ferment that led to the discovery of messenger RNA and the operon.
Franklin Stahl: Novick’s recruitment of Stahl to Oregon was a masterstroke that cemented the IMB's reputation as a powerhouse of molecular genetics.

7. Lesser-Known Facts

Political Activism: Deeply affected by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Novick was an active member of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. He spent much of the late 1940s lecturing on the need for international control of nuclear energy.
The "Szilard-Novick" Partnership: Legend has it that Szilard, who didn't like to get his hands dirty in the lab, would often call Novick in the middle of the night with ideas. Novick would then spend the next week proving which ones were brilliant and which were physically impossible.
A "Scientist's Scientist": Novick was known for his humility. Despite his massive influence, he often declined senior authorship on papers to allow his students and junior colleagues to take the spotlight, a trait that earned him immense loyalty within the academic community.