Talk:Hugo Kortschak

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I request that WP create a page devoted to plant physiologist Hugo Kortschak (so disambiguation will be necessary), the scientist who, while residing in Hawaii and working for Dole in the early 1960s, discovered a new biochemical pathway to reduce and fix carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. This intermediate pathway involved the molecule C4 rather than the far more common (99% of plants) pathway using the molecule C3 discovered by Melvin Calvin for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize. The new Kortschak intermediate pathway is more efficient than the Calvin pathway and is only used by some tropical grasses, but those include the economically-important sugar cane and maize (corn), so its discovery was of major importance. The discovery, reception, and later research resulted in the pathway being named after two other plant physiologists, Hatch and Slack, quite unfortunately failing to recognize Kortschak's priority. I learned that Kortschak was publicly criticized and humiliated by Calvin during a plant physiology conference during 1962 or 1963 when Kortschak first presented his results (because Calvin thought Kortschak's results were completely wrong), apparently leading to Kortschak's discouragement and first scientific paper on the subject being published much later, in 1965, after being encouraged to publish by the lab's new director, Louis Nickell. At that time, Calvin and others did not believe that any other pathway existed, but they were wrong. A third pathway (CAM) is also now known, even rarer. This incident should be important in the history of science.

Whoever is monitoring this page, please forward my note to the correct person. Steven (talk) 22:16, 17 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I discovered that the Hugo Kortschak of this page, the violinist and music professor at the Manhattan School of Music, is the father of plant physiologist Hugo Kortschak whom I discuss above (I just noticed that this is actually stated in this article in the sidebar!). A paper by Louis G. Nickell, titled "A tribute to Hugo Kortschak: The man, the scientist and the discoverer of C4 photosynthesis," published in Photosynthesis Research, February 1993, Volume 35, Issue 2, pp 201-204, briefly discusses Kortschak, his research, and the priority controversy. I am continuing to investigate. Steven (talk) 22:24, 18 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]