KEVLES, Daniel J(erome) 1939-

PERSONAL: Surname is pronounced Kev-less; born March 2, 1939, in Philadelphia, PA; son of David (a teacher) and Anne (Rothstein) Kevles; married Bettyann Holtzmann (an editor and a writer), May 18, 1961; children: Beth, Jonathan. Education: Princeton University, B.A., 1960, Ph.D., 1964; graduate study at Oxford University, 1960-61. Politics: Liberal. Hobbies and other interests: Swimming, playing guitar and piano, "cooking, eating, and drinking with good company," and "endlessly" restoring his 1956 Jaguar XK-140.

ADDRESSES: Offıce—Yale Law School, PO Box 208215, New Haven, CT 06520. E-mail—Daniel. [email protected]

CAREER: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, assistant professor, 1964-68, associate professor, 1968-78, professor of history, 1978-86, J. O. and Juliette Koepfli Professor of the Humanities, beginning in 1986, chairman of the faculty, 1995-97; Yale University, New Haven, CT, professor of history, 200—. Director of studies, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, France, 1991. Visiting professor, University of Pennsylvania, 1979, Princeton University, 1999. Member of White House staff, Washington, DC, 1964; member of committee on scientific autobiography, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

MEMBER: Organization of American Historians, American Association of the History of Medicine; History of Science Society (president of West Coast Branch, 1978-80), Society of American Historians, American History Association, American Philosophical Society, Princeton Club (New York, NY), American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Century Association, American Association for the Advancement of Science, PEN, Authors Guild, Authors League of America, Phi Beta Kappa.

AWARDS, HONORS: National Science Foundation fellowship, Oxford, 1960-61; Woodrow Wilson fellowship, 1961-62; National Science Foundation grants, 1965, 1973-74, and 1978-80; American Council of Learned Societies grant, 1973; Visiting research fellow, University of Sussex, 1976; National Historical Society Book Prize, 1979, and American Book Award nomination in history, 1980, both for The Physicists: The History of a Scientific Community in Modern America; National Endowment for the Humanities senior fellowship, 1981-82; Charles Warren fellowship, Harvard University, 1981-82; Sloan Foundation grants, 1982-84 and 1985-87; Guggenheim fellowship, 1983; Page One Award, Newspaper Guild of New York, 1985, for "Annals of Eugenics"; American Book Award nomination in nonfiction, 1985, for In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity; Center for the Advanced Study of Behavioral Sciences fellowship, 1986-87; Watson Davis Prize, History of Science Society, 1999.

WRITINGS:

The Physicists: The History of a Scientific Community in Modern America, Knopf (New York, NY), 1978; reprinted, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA), 1995.

In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity, Knopf (New York, NY), 1985.

(Coeditor with Leroy Hood) The Code of Codes: Scientific and Social Issues in the Human Genome Project, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA), 1992.

The Baltimore Case: A Trial of Politics, Science, and Character, Norton (New York, NY), 1998.

A History of Patenting Life in the United States with Comparative Attention to Europe and Canada: A Report to the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies, Office for Official Publications of the European Commission (Luxembourg), 2002.

(Coeditor with Pauline Maier, Alexander Keyssar, and Merritt Roe Smith) Inventing America: A History of the United States, Norton (New York, NY), 2003.

OTHER

(Editor) The George Ellery Hale Papers, 1882-1937, at the Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories Laboratory, Pasadena, California (microfilm), Carnegie Institute of Washington (Washington, DC), 1967.

Served on the editorial board of the American Experience in the Twentieth Century. Contributor of articles and reviews to periodicals, including Scientific American, Harper's, and New Yorker.

SIDELIGHTS: Daniel J. Kevles is a professor of history at Yale University and the author of the critically acclaimed scientific histories, The Physicists: The History of a Scientific Community in Modern America and In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity, both of which were nominated for American Book Awards. The Physicists traces American physics since the Civil War, profiling its most influential figures while also offering insights into the role of science within American society. A "carefully assembled work," according to Deborah Shapley in the New York Times Book Review, The Physicists "examines the intrinsic elitism of scientific research and traces the conflict of that elitism with America's democratic traditions." John Leonard similarly commented in the New York Times that Kevles's book, "ultimately and significantly, is about how a kind of intelligence and a species of need are forced to accommodate themselves to the broader intelligence and needfulness of pluralistic, democratic community." Leonard added, "Calmly, with a sharp eye for the telling anecdote, Mr. Kevles paints a picture of aristocrats who managed unconsciously to translate a laissez-faire attitude toward their science . . . into an attitude about society, government, [and] capitalism." A reviewer for the New Yorker called The Physicists a "fascinating and meticulously documented study."

Kevles's In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity, examines the history of eugenics, the controversial branch of science founded in the late nineteenth century by Francis Galton with the belief of improving society through selective human breeding. According to Leon J. Kamin in the New York Times Book Review, Kevles "makes clear in his well-written narrative the symbiotic relations between the genuine science of genetics—the branch of biology that deals with heredity and variation in similar or related animals and plants—and the political programs and prejudices of the eugenicists." In addition to examining the relationship of eugenic principles to modern-day medical genetics, Kevles cites examples where eugenic theories have influenced United States and British governmental policy, as in the establishment of immigration quotas according to race. "A book that is at once impressive and deeply disturbing," according to James H. Jones in the Washington Post Book World, In the Name of Eugenics "is a skillful revelation of the ease with which a pseudo-science can elevate gross social prejudices to official public policies, and it stands as a powerful warning against anyone today who would use the fruits of legitimate science to bolster arguments and policies that echo the social and racial prejudices of the past."

Kevles and Leroy Hood served as coeditors of and contributors to The Code of Codes: Scientific and Social Issues in the Human Genome Project, a collection of essays with a range of perspectives on the history, science, ethics, laws, and societal impacts of the human genome project (HGP). The intent of the researchers working on the federally-funded HGP is to identify all of the three billion pairs of genes that make up the human body. In addition, scientists are hoping that the HGP will make it possible to determine which pairs of genes are responsible for genetic abnormalities and which genes predispose someone to a certain illness, such as high blood pressure or arthritis. Much controversy surrounds the HGP as new findings raise new questions. Contributors to The Code of Codes include James Watson, one of the discoverers of DNA's double-helix structure, Nancy Wexler, a human genetics advocate, Henry Greely, a law professor, Horace Freeland Judson, Walter Gilbert, Charles Cantor, C. Thomas Caskey, Ruth Schwartz Cowan, and Evelyn Fox Keller, among others. In the first section of the book, Kevles introduces the history and politics of the HGP, while Judson focuses on the history of the science and technology behind the mapping project. The second section of the book presents the technological and scientific aspects of the HGP, while the third section is devoted primarily to the legal, ethical, and societal implications of the project.

Lilly-Marlene Russow summarized The Code of Codes in the Hastings Center Report, writing, "Although no new philosophical ground is broken . . . this anthology offers a great deal of information about the mechanics and impact of mapping the human genome. Selected essays provide background on the science and technology involved in mapping, the history of the genome project and the discoveries that led to it, as well as a survey of the most important social, legal, and moral dilemmas that have arisen or might arise in the course of increased understanding of how we become what we are." Walter H. Capps commented in Christian Century, "We are not yet in a position to fathom the outcome of genetic research. But it is already clear that the [human genome] project presents extraordinary moral challenges as well as exciting and sobering prospects for theological understanding." This book, wrote Capps, "is an impressive assortment of chapters by scholars and authorities who approach the subject from virtually all relevant perspectives." Robert S. Saunders, Jr., concluded in National Forum, "This work prompts us to ask whether the project will be a scientific justification for neoeugenics and a societal tool for discrimination or a grail to heal many inherited diseases. In that regard, it is an important book for us all." A Futurist reviewer remarked, "Though somewhat technical, this authoritative volume provides a thoughtful assessment of a scientific project that seems certain to revolutionize our future."

In his next book, Kevles examines a prominent court case involving a young doctoral fellow, Margot O'Toole, who accused lab director Thereza Iminishi-Kari of falsifying data in a published article, thereby discrediting both Iminishi-Kari and her Nobel Prizewinning coauthor, David Baltimore. The Baltimore Case: A Trial of Politics, Science, and Character seeks to correct much of the misinformation provided to the public by the media during the case. Kevles explains the article in question—a published study on an immunology experiment—and discusses the following investigation and trial. Ultimately, Iminishi-Kari was found innocent of fraud; Baltimore, who in the aftermath of the charges was forced to resign as president of Rockefeller University, was appointed as president of the California Institute of Technology; and the results of the experiment were actually verified in later tests.

Reviews of The Baltimore Case were mainly positive. Booklist's Mary Carroll felt that the immunology experiment was "tough to evaluate" but dubbed the book "a scary tale of science in the political and media crosshairs." Baruch A. Brody of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association noted that this "careful analysis" is "well-written, fully documented, and immensely judicious." Alfred I. Tauber wrote in the Quarterly Review of Biology, "The sustaining brilliance of this book is its clear demonstration of the plurality of scientific practice and the critical nature of seeking what is real." Tauber called The Baltimore Case "a multifaceted portrait of contemporary science at work" that provides a "riveting and detailed account" of the case. Stephen Lock of the British Medical Journal believed the "beautifully written book . . . corrects any wrong emphasis in the record."

For his next major work, Kevles collaborated with Pauline Maier, Alexander Keyssar, and Merritt Roe Smith to produce Inventing America: A History of the United States. The book uses technology, invention, and innovation as a focal point for explaining American history. From the founding fathers' invention of a new form of government to the beginning of the twenty-first century, the authors reexamine the history of America with, as Amos St. Germain noted in the Journal of Popular Culture, "unique emphasis on the impact of science, engineering, and technology on American life." St. Germain commented, "The book does not fall into the trap of gender, class, race, and ethnicity . . . . Inventing America is something new, different, and altogether overdue." However, Sylvia Nasar of the New York Times Book Review remarked, "those who hoped that this much-anticipated textbook would give college freshman a better grasp of how bright ideas helped turn America into a global power, the world's richest nation, and the undisputed leader in scientific discovery will be frustrated." Nasar continued, "[The book] neither introduces students to relevant concepts like productivity or life expectancy, nor helps them marshal evidence to distinguish between competing hypotheses." Diana Muir of the Boston Globe thought the theme of technology, science, and invention "works brilliantly." "The power of Inventing America," wrote Muir, "is that it makes the past intelligible in ways that are useful for the future. . . . If students take only one lesson from this text, it will be that even the most daunting problems can be solved." Newsweek's Malcolm Jones praised, "This is solid piece of scholarship, written by four of the most respected historians alive." Jones continued, "Reading Inventing America, looking at the nation's history through the powerful lens of ceaseless innovation, you see events falling into place in ways they never have before."

Kevles once commented on his objectives as a scientific historian: "In my writing I generally aim to interpret scientists, who are as human as anyone else; science, which is one of man's greatest intellectual achievements; and their combined role in society, both contemporary and historical. I like to dramatize my subjects as much as possible, to include anecdote along with analysis. Books about science should be as readable and as accessible as books about, say, politics or culture, especially since science and technology affect our lives in so many ways. I'm an old Jeffersonian: the healthiest way to deal with even abstruse issues of public policy is not by courts of experts alone but through an informed public."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

American Men and Women of Science, Volume 4, J-L, Bowker (New Providence, NJ), 1999.

Directory of American Scholars, Tenth edition, Gale (Detroit, MI), 2001.

PERIODICALS

American Historical Review, June, 1986.

American Scientist, November-December, 2002, review of Inventing America, p. 566.

Antioch Review, summer, 1993, review of The Code of Codes, p. 454.

Booklist, September 1, 1998, Mary Carroll, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 38.

Book World, March 12, 1978; July 14, 1985; March 21, 1993, review of The Code of Codes, p. 12.

Boston Globe, October 27, 2002, Diana Muir, "A New History, Inventing America, Focuses on the Spirit of Scientific Inquiry and Exploration in the United States," review of Inventing America, p. NA.

British Medical Journal, October 2, 1999, Stephen Lock, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 926.

Business Week, October 26, 1998, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 18.

Choice, January, 1993, review of The Code of Codes, p. 822.

Christian Century, April 7, 1993, Walter H. Capps, review of The Code of Codes, p. 373.

Commonweal, February 27, 1987.

Economist, September 19, 1992, review of The Code of Codes, p. 109.

Futurist, March-April, 1993, review of The Code of Codes, p. 40.

Hastings Center Report, March-April, 1994, Lilly-Marlene Russow, review of The Code of Codes, p. 42.

Isis, June, 1994, review of The Code of Codes, p. 293; December, 1999, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 781.

JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, April 21, 1993, Michael A. Schmidt, review of The Code of Codes, p. 2003.

Journal of Popular Culture, November, 2003, Amos St. Germain, review of Inventing America, p. 367.

Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 1998, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 1089.

Library Journal, April 15, 1992, review of The Code of Codes, p. 188; October 1, 1998, Robert C. Ballou, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 128; March 1, 1999, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 48.

London Review of Books, March 5, 1987; August 20, 1992, review of The Code of Codes, p. 13; March 4, 1999, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 27.

Los Angeles Time Book Review, August 11, 1985; October 11, 1987; August 30, 1998, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 8.

National Forum, spring, 1993, Robert S. Saunders, Jr., review of The Code of Codes, p. 47.

Nature, July 2, 1992, review of The Code of Codes, p. 27; April 27, 1995, review of The Physicists, p. 830; August 24, 1995, review of In the Name of Eugenics, p. 654; September 3, 1998, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 30; April 29, 1999, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 776.

New Republic, August 5, 1985.

New Scientist, January 9, 1999, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 40.

Newsweek, January 23, 1978.

New Yorker, February 13, 1978; December 21, 1998, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 98.

New York Review of Books, June 28, 1979; May 28, 1992, review of The Code of Codes, p. 31; December 3, 1998, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 24.

New York Times, January 6, 1978; May 23, 1985; September 14, 1998, review of The Baltimore Case, p. E6.

New York Times Book Review, February 12, 1978; June 9, 1985; May 2, 1993, review of The Code of Codes, p. 28; September 20, 1998, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 9; December 6, 1998, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 75; September 15, 2002, Sylvia Nasar, "A Textbook Case: A New Interpretation of America's Story Puts Innovation at the Center," review of Inventing America, p. 17.

Psychology Today, June, 1985.

Publishers Weekly, August 17, 1998, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 60.

Quarterly Journal of Speech, May, 1993, review of The Code of Codes, p. 232.

Quarterly Review of Biology, September, 1993, review of The Code of Codes, p. 420; March, 2000, Alfred I. Tauber, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 39.

Religious Studies Review, July, 1993, review of The Code of Codes, p. 245.

San Francisco Review of Books, January, 1993, review of The Code of Codes, p. 40.

Science, August 14, 1992, Bernard D. Davis, review of The Code of Codes, p. 981; September 1, 1995, review of The Physicists, p. 1291.

Science Books and Films, November 1992, review of The Code of Codes, p. 233; special edition, 1998, review of The Physicists, p. 28; September, 1999, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 202; November, 1999, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 249; November, 2001, review of The Physicists, p. 242; July, 2001, review of The Physicists, p. 150.

Scientific American, January, 1986.

SciTech Book News, February, 1993, review of The Code of Codes, p. 21.

Times Literary Supplement, March 17, 1989, review of The Physicists, p. 273; December 25, 1998, review of The Baltimore Case, p. 26.

Wall Street Journal, September 9, 1998, review of The Baltimore Case, p. A20.

Wilson Quarterly, spring, 1992, review of The Code of Codes, p. 85.

ONLINE

Christian Science Monitor Web site,http://www.csmonitor.com/ (January 2, 2003), Alan Earls, "The Mother of Invention: A New History of American Looks Back through the Lens of Technology," review of Inventing America.

Gerry Rising's Web site,http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~insrisg/nature/nw99/baltimore.html (January 15, 2003), review of The Baltimore Case.

Harvard University Press Web site,http://www.hup.harvard.edu/ (January 15, 2003), descriptions of The Physicists, The Code of Codes, and In the Name of Eugenics.

JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association Web site,http://jama.ama-assn.org/ (April 21, 1999), Baruch A. Brody, review of The Baltimore Case.

Newsweek Online,http://www.newsweek.com/ (January 15, 2003), Malcolm Jones, "Mother Lode of Invention: A Smart New Textbook Brings American History into Focus through the Lens of Innovation and Technology," review of Inventing America.

W. W. Norton and Company Web site,http://www.wwnorton.com/ (January 15, 2003), description of Inventing America.

Yale University History of Medicine and Science Web site, http://info.med.yal.edu/histmed/ (January 15, 2003), "Daniel J. Kevles."

Yale University Law School Web site,http://www.law.yale.edu/ (June 17, 2004), "Profile: Daniel J. Kevles."*