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Plaque featuring Stanley W. Watson, hung in the new lab bearing his name.

Plaque featuring Stanley W. Watson, hung in the new lab bearing his name.
Plaque featuring Stanley W. Watson, hung in the new lab bearing his name.
Plaque featuring Stanley W. Watson, hung in the new lab bearing his name.
Plaque featuring Stanley W. Watson, hung in the new lab bearing his name.
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599019
Gray, David L.
Plaque featuring Stanley W. Watson, hung in the new lab bearing his name.
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01/01/2005
S.watson copy.jpg
Date is approximate.
Caption from Oceanus magazine, Vol. 44, No. 3, Pg. 35:
Woods hole oceanographic institution 35 Biologist, businessman, benefactor.
Institutional buildings are usually named after a person for one of two reasons: the namesake has achieved great things on behalf of the institution, or he or she is a generous benefactor. Stanley Watson was both to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Watson, who died in 1995 following a 35-year career at WHOI, was a microbiologist whose research interests foreshadowed the cross-disciplinary field of biogeochemistry. He was instrumental in uncovering the importance of bacteria in ocean food webs and in the nitrogen cycle. He collaborated with John Waterbury, now a senior scientist in the Biology Department, in a momentous discovery. On a 1977 cruise in the Arabian Sea, he found extremely small, previously unknown photosynthetic cells in seawater. They turned out to be one of the most numerous organisms on the planet: the cyanobacteria Synechococcus. Watson also refined and patented a test for bacteria in seawater, using an extract from the blood of horseshoe crabs that reacts with toxins that bacteria release. In a successful second career as head of Associates of Cape Cod, Watson and company produced that extract—limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL )—which is used by hospitals and medical device producers worldwide to detect bacterial contamination and ensure safe products. Proceeds from the company formed the basis for the Watson Foundation, which has supported research and education at WHOI and other institutions for more than 20 years. Waterbury, who worked closely with Watson for years, admired his ability to “approach scientific problems with an intuitive sense, not prejudiced by preconceived notions. He was quick to grasp the long-range implications of his observations.” Another colleague and friend, Frederica Valois, who helped develop LAL , said Watson “hated to waste time that could be spent working, yet he balanced equal work with equal play.” In recognition of his leadership and generosity, WHOI will dedicate one of its new buildings as the Stanley W. Watson Laboratory.
Photo by Dave Gray
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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