Photosynthesis Research 34: 333-335, 1992. © 1992 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.
Robin Hill: A personal perspective Peter R. Rich Glynn Research Institute, Bodmin, Cornwall P L 3 0 4 A U , UK Received and accepted 13 March 1992
My first contacts with Robin and Priscilla began in 1972 when I c o m m e n c e d Ph.D. work in Cambridge in the laboratory of D e r e k Bendall. Robin would turn up sporadically, and usually disappeared rapidly into his small laboratory next to the one in which I worked. Typically, he arrived carrying a pile of mail balanced precariously on an ancient and battered brown leather attach6 case which he used as a briefcase. Robin was so shy that it was at least six months before I really got onto conversational terms with him. Later, I was often invited to talk with him in his laboratory and so our lasting friendship began. As anyone who has seen Robin's laboratory would r e m e m b e r , it consisted of a narrow room with a benchtop on either side. These were completely covered with odd items in various stages of dilapidation. Robin would have to sit on a stool and use his briefcase balanced on his knees as a desk so that he could go through the mail, since there was nowhere else to put anything down. The appearance was of total chaos. Yet, Robin seemed to know exactly where everything was and could locate obscure items with ease, even if he had not unearthed them for m a n y years. I r e m e m b e r that the cleaner of the time was afraid to go into the room, in case she accidentally m o v e d one of the objects, an act that Robin would be sure to subsequently notice. My scientific interests at the time were with microsomal electron transfer systems, and it was only much later that I became aware of, and involved in, Robin's continuing efforts to understand photosynthetic energy conversion. Our scientific conversations sometimes involved local wild plants, a topic in which Robin was an expert, and in which I also had an interest. These led to several local expeditions by Robin and myself. One of these involved an afternoon
trek across the G o g Magog hills to the south of C a m b r i d g e to relocate and collect seeds from a truly wild cornflower that I had come across, a species now rare in the wild because of the efficiency of modern farming methods. Robin m a n a g e d to get these seeds germinated in a pot in his greenhouse and propagated them every year subsequently. At that time we also had some general scientific discussions. Several times Robin said to me that 'the elementary texts are the most difficult to grasp', a theme that was to recur and b e c o m e painfully clearer to me when I returned to Cambridge after working in the U S A . It was these conversations that revealed to me Robin's very deep and wide-ranging understanding of Natural Science (and also my very profound ignorance in comparison). I hope that some indication of this diversity of knowledge can be gained from the few short m e m o i r contributions in this special issue of Photosynthesis Research. Also lying around his laboratory were several hand spectroscopes and Robin enjoyed any opportunity to examine a new coloured material with one of them. H e complained that although he had trained his eye to see about 20 nanometers beyond both the blue and red ends of the average persons 'visible' spectrum, this ability had diminished with age. On one occasion, I was trying to quantitate low levels of oxygen remaining in some experimental samples. When I told Robin of this, he suggested a method and began to r u m m a g e through heaps of samples of various kinds in his ancient chest freezer in the corridor. H e soon produced a sample of purified sperm whale myoglobin that he had made in 1936 and which, from examination by hand spectroscope, was still in good condition. On my return to Cambridge in 1978, Robin
334 still had his laboratory space, apparently (to me) completely unchanged. Soon after that time, parts of the Department in Cambridge were refurbished and reorganised and Robin (along with Malcolm Dixon and Sir Rudolph Peters) became casualties of this modernisation since they all lost their space. Robin, however, managed to transfer much of the contents of his laboratory to an upstairs room at Vatches Farm which he used as a study and which had the familiar look of ancient and total chaos. His appearances at the Department decreased and instead I began to visit Vatches Farm on a fairly regular basis. This continued for more than six years until I finally again left Cambridge. At the time of these visits, I had already worked with mitochondrial systems and was actively engaged in photosynthetic studies. Robin began to discuss with me his long-standing efforts to develop ideas on power production by natural photosynthesis. It seemed that, ever since his classic paper with Fay Bendall on the Z-scheme (Hill and Bendall 1960), Robin considered that an essential feature had been overl o o k e d - t h i s was the fact that the sizes of the arrows of the 'Z' were approximately one half of the energy contained in the photon that caused them (later, Robin drew them to be exactly one half). Robin had spent most of his scientific energies since that paper in considerations of fundamental aspects of power conversion processes. The detail and depth of this work was evident from a series of 'notebooks', which eventually numbered more that 50, in which he painstakingly had recorded his thoughts and calculations in this area over a period of more than 20 years. As was typical of Robin, he began discussing this work with me as if I were totally familiar with the necessary areas of physics, thermodynamics and quantum processes. Thus began for me a period in which I realised just how little really fundamental understanding I had of many physical processes and I began to educate myself in some of them by making use of the excellent resources of the University Library in Cambridge. Robin would sometimes give me a reading list. It was rare that any of the suggested books had been originally published later than the 1930s. Each was a classic in fundamentals and Robin seemed to have studied, and mas-
tered, all of them at a much earlier date. To me, every book was a mammoth undertaking; several, I still peruse from time to time and often my memory is jogged to remember some comment that Robin made at the time. Examples of this type of book were the 'Theory of Heat' and also 'The Theory of Heat Radiation' by Max Planck (first published in German around 1910 but translated into English editions in 1932 and 1959, respectively). These and related books consider thermodynamic properties of radiation. Black body radiation can be used as a material in a perfectly reflecting cylinder with a piston. By connection to sinks of black body radiation at definable temperatures, pressure changes on the piston can be calculated, and so the thermodynamic parameters of radiation can be calculated in a manner analogous to the treatment of heat in the familiar Carnot and Rankine Cycles. Robin was particularly concerned with problems which arise when using monochromatic radiation in such devices, for example, the D6ppler effect caused by movement of the piston. This area, and its extension to situations of finite power production, occupied Robin considerably, and he produced a few not-well-known papers on the theme (Hill 1977, 1985). Robin considered that maximum power production occurred during the photosynthetic quantum conversion process at an efficiency of 50%, reminiscent of the 50% efficiency of more familiar macroscopic machines, such as an electric motor, which have at their root a linear relation between flux and force (Hill and Rich 1982). He made some speculations on the possible fate of the remaining 50% of the photon energy, and we even tried some unsuccessful experiments to test these ideas. I can't imagine that I helped Robin at all in my discussions with him on the quantum aspect of these topics (in fact, I often made him positively irate with my lack of understanding), except perhaps by showing an enthusiasm for work which was otherwise unknown to most other scientists in the area of photosynthesis. Nevertheless, I benefited considerably, and the little that I did manage to absorb gave me a much sounder understanding of what Robin liked to call 'thermodynamics and thermostatics'. In a typical double entendre, he would complain that many people accused him of 'putting too much
335 time into thermodynamics'. This consideration of the thermodynamic aspect of photosynthesis in terms of power conversion occupied Robin for the rest of his life. These years were an important time of education for me. But I also remember the pleasant times when, after our scientific discussions, Priscilla would join us, we would have something to drink or wander round the unique garden at Vatches Farm to examine some seasonal behaviour of one the many exotic plants, and then have a simple and relaxed meal in the old kitchen. Robin's breadth of knowledge of, and affinity with, The Natural Sciences, his unassuming nature, and his remarkable intellect, made him a unique individual. The contributors to this volume represent only a tiny fraction of the sci-
entists whose work has been profoundly influenced by his personal scientific accomplishments but they, I hope, will reflect a little of the immense worldwide respect that Robin commanded.
References Hill R (1977) Some tentative questions about radiant energy and its conversion in chloroplasts. PhotosyntheticOrganelles Special Issue of Plant & Cell Physiol 47-54 Hill R (1985) The dynamic aspect of photosynthesis. Physiologie Vegetale 23:545-554 Hill R and Bendall F (1960) Function of the two cytochrome components in chloroplasts: A working hypothesis. Nature 186:40-44 Hill R and Rich PR (1982) A physical interpretation for the natural photosynthetic process. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 80:978-982
Robin Hill: A personal perspective Peter R. Rich Glynn Research Institute, Bodmin, Cornwall P L 3 0 4 A U , UK Received and accepted 13 March 1992
My first contacts with Robin and Priscilla began in 1972 when I c o m m e n c e d Ph.D. work in Cambridge in the laboratory of D e r e k Bendall. Robin would turn up sporadically, and usually disappeared rapidly into his small laboratory next to the one in which I worked. Typically, he arrived carrying a pile of mail balanced precariously on an ancient and battered brown leather attach6 case which he used as a briefcase. Robin was so shy that it was at least six months before I really got onto conversational terms with him. Later, I was often invited to talk with him in his laboratory and so our lasting friendship began. As anyone who has seen Robin's laboratory would r e m e m b e r , it consisted of a narrow room with a benchtop on either side. These were completely covered with odd items in various stages of dilapidation. Robin would have to sit on a stool and use his briefcase balanced on his knees as a desk so that he could go through the mail, since there was nowhere else to put anything down. The appearance was of total chaos. Yet, Robin seemed to know exactly where everything was and could locate obscure items with ease, even if he had not unearthed them for m a n y years. I r e m e m b e r that the cleaner of the time was afraid to go into the room, in case she accidentally m o v e d one of the objects, an act that Robin would be sure to subsequently notice. My scientific interests at the time were with microsomal electron transfer systems, and it was only much later that I became aware of, and involved in, Robin's continuing efforts to understand photosynthetic energy conversion. Our scientific conversations sometimes involved local wild plants, a topic in which Robin was an expert, and in which I also had an interest. These led to several local expeditions by Robin and myself. One of these involved an afternoon
trek across the G o g Magog hills to the south of C a m b r i d g e to relocate and collect seeds from a truly wild cornflower that I had come across, a species now rare in the wild because of the efficiency of modern farming methods. Robin m a n a g e d to get these seeds germinated in a pot in his greenhouse and propagated them every year subsequently. At that time we also had some general scientific discussions. Several times Robin said to me that 'the elementary texts are the most difficult to grasp', a theme that was to recur and b e c o m e painfully clearer to me when I returned to Cambridge after working in the U S A . It was these conversations that revealed to me Robin's very deep and wide-ranging understanding of Natural Science (and also my very profound ignorance in comparison). I hope that some indication of this diversity of knowledge can be gained from the few short m e m o i r contributions in this special issue of Photosynthesis Research. Also lying around his laboratory were several hand spectroscopes and Robin enjoyed any opportunity to examine a new coloured material with one of them. H e complained that although he had trained his eye to see about 20 nanometers beyond both the blue and red ends of the average persons 'visible' spectrum, this ability had diminished with age. On one occasion, I was trying to quantitate low levels of oxygen remaining in some experimental samples. When I told Robin of this, he suggested a method and began to r u m m a g e through heaps of samples of various kinds in his ancient chest freezer in the corridor. H e soon produced a sample of purified sperm whale myoglobin that he had made in 1936 and which, from examination by hand spectroscope, was still in good condition. On my return to Cambridge in 1978, Robin
334 still had his laboratory space, apparently (to me) completely unchanged. Soon after that time, parts of the Department in Cambridge were refurbished and reorganised and Robin (along with Malcolm Dixon and Sir Rudolph Peters) became casualties of this modernisation since they all lost their space. Robin, however, managed to transfer much of the contents of his laboratory to an upstairs room at Vatches Farm which he used as a study and which had the familiar look of ancient and total chaos. His appearances at the Department decreased and instead I began to visit Vatches Farm on a fairly regular basis. This continued for more than six years until I finally again left Cambridge. At the time of these visits, I had already worked with mitochondrial systems and was actively engaged in photosynthetic studies. Robin began to discuss with me his long-standing efforts to develop ideas on power production by natural photosynthesis. It seemed that, ever since his classic paper with Fay Bendall on the Z-scheme (Hill and Bendall 1960), Robin considered that an essential feature had been overl o o k e d - t h i s was the fact that the sizes of the arrows of the 'Z' were approximately one half of the energy contained in the photon that caused them (later, Robin drew them to be exactly one half). Robin had spent most of his scientific energies since that paper in considerations of fundamental aspects of power conversion processes. The detail and depth of this work was evident from a series of 'notebooks', which eventually numbered more that 50, in which he painstakingly had recorded his thoughts and calculations in this area over a period of more than 20 years. As was typical of Robin, he began discussing this work with me as if I were totally familiar with the necessary areas of physics, thermodynamics and quantum processes. Thus began for me a period in which I realised just how little really fundamental understanding I had of many physical processes and I began to educate myself in some of them by making use of the excellent resources of the University Library in Cambridge. Robin would sometimes give me a reading list. It was rare that any of the suggested books had been originally published later than the 1930s. Each was a classic in fundamentals and Robin seemed to have studied, and mas-
tered, all of them at a much earlier date. To me, every book was a mammoth undertaking; several, I still peruse from time to time and often my memory is jogged to remember some comment that Robin made at the time. Examples of this type of book were the 'Theory of Heat' and also 'The Theory of Heat Radiation' by Max Planck (first published in German around 1910 but translated into English editions in 1932 and 1959, respectively). These and related books consider thermodynamic properties of radiation. Black body radiation can be used as a material in a perfectly reflecting cylinder with a piston. By connection to sinks of black body radiation at definable temperatures, pressure changes on the piston can be calculated, and so the thermodynamic parameters of radiation can be calculated in a manner analogous to the treatment of heat in the familiar Carnot and Rankine Cycles. Robin was particularly concerned with problems which arise when using monochromatic radiation in such devices, for example, the D6ppler effect caused by movement of the piston. This area, and its extension to situations of finite power production, occupied Robin considerably, and he produced a few not-well-known papers on the theme (Hill 1977, 1985). Robin considered that maximum power production occurred during the photosynthetic quantum conversion process at an efficiency of 50%, reminiscent of the 50% efficiency of more familiar macroscopic machines, such as an electric motor, which have at their root a linear relation between flux and force (Hill and Rich 1982). He made some speculations on the possible fate of the remaining 50% of the photon energy, and we even tried some unsuccessful experiments to test these ideas. I can't imagine that I helped Robin at all in my discussions with him on the quantum aspect of these topics (in fact, I often made him positively irate with my lack of understanding), except perhaps by showing an enthusiasm for work which was otherwise unknown to most other scientists in the area of photosynthesis. Nevertheless, I benefited considerably, and the little that I did manage to absorb gave me a much sounder understanding of what Robin liked to call 'thermodynamics and thermostatics'. In a typical double entendre, he would complain that many people accused him of 'putting too much
335 time into thermodynamics'. This consideration of the thermodynamic aspect of photosynthesis in terms of power conversion occupied Robin for the rest of his life. These years were an important time of education for me. But I also remember the pleasant times when, after our scientific discussions, Priscilla would join us, we would have something to drink or wander round the unique garden at Vatches Farm to examine some seasonal behaviour of one the many exotic plants, and then have a simple and relaxed meal in the old kitchen. Robin's breadth of knowledge of, and affinity with, The Natural Sciences, his unassuming nature, and his remarkable intellect, made him a unique individual. The contributors to this volume represent only a tiny fraction of the sci-
entists whose work has been profoundly influenced by his personal scientific accomplishments but they, I hope, will reflect a little of the immense worldwide respect that Robin commanded.
References Hill R (1977) Some tentative questions about radiant energy and its conversion in chloroplasts. PhotosyntheticOrganelles Special Issue of Plant & Cell Physiol 47-54 Hill R (1985) The dynamic aspect of photosynthesis. Physiologie Vegetale 23:545-554 Hill R and Bendall F (1960) Function of the two cytochrome components in chloroplasts: A working hypothesis. Nature 186:40-44 Hill R and Rich PR (1982) A physical interpretation for the natural photosynthetic process. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 80:978-982
