Letter to the Editor
Frederick Robert (Bob) Whatley (1924-2020): Co-discoverer of Photophosphorylation in Chloroplasts and much more

By : Govindjee Govindjee

Page No: 23-29

Abstract
I present here a personal reminiscence of the life and research of Frederick Robert (Bob) Whatley (January 26, 1924–November 14, 2020). He was responsible for showing that chloroplasts are complete units for oxygenic photosynthesis and that ‘photophosphorylation’ is what is common between anoxygenic and oxygenic photosynthesis. He had an innovative nature and exploited many biophysical and biochemical techniques to understand, in depth, the regulatory nature of photosynthesis. Bob Whatley was a self-sufficient, thorough, quiet, and confident scientist, but he was ‘self-effacing’ and never ever “blew his own horn”. My presentation is mingled a bit, at places, with my own thoughts – to give it a ‘personal’ touch.

Author :
Govindjee Govindjee : Department of Plant Biology, Department of Biochemistry, and Center of Biophysics & Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801.
 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32381/JPSR.2022.38.1.2