UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #256
STRONG, FRANK M.

STRONG, Frank M. (1908-1993)
Graduate Student, Chemistry; Professor of Biochemistry
At UW: 1929-1972

Interviewed: 1983	
Series: Life Sciences
Interviewer: Laura Smail
Length: 1.5 hours

Background; Graduate work; Study abroad; Move into biochemistry; Work with Folke Skoog on cytokinins; Contribution to discovery of anti-pellagra vitamin; Issues in Biochemistry Department; Department library; Equipment in 1930s; Dicumarol patent; Home Economics Department; Research on toxins; National Institute for Researchers; Student protest era.

Time		Keywords

00:00:00	Early education. Graduated from Syracuse University in 1928. Got married shortly before graduation; he and his wife had a child shortly afterwards. FS got Master's degree there after graduation.

00:03:21	After getting Master's in 1929, he got a summer job at Du Pont for $250 a month.  One of the professors at Syracuse knew Homer Adkins in organic chemistry in Madison. FS got a TA position and came to University in fall of 1929. In 1932, he received his Ph.D. Depression hit while working on degree, and he had three of his five children by then. Describes his children.

00:07:20	Came to chemistry department and studied with Samuel McElvain. Comments on him. He was interested in local anesthetic synthesized from structure of natural substance. FS worked on that project. FS tried to prepare one from molecular structure of natural substance. McElvain developed Novocaine.

00:09:34	Needed nicotinic acid to do experiments looking for Niacin. How you make nicotinic acid. Niacin, the pellagra cure discovered by Elvehjem. FS had hand in its development.

00:12:40	How he got into biochemistry. Needed money to support his wife and family.  Professor Peterson hired him for $750 per semester. Next year, all faculty had to take 10% fee waiver but Professor Peterson requested that it not apply to FS, since he made so little.

00:15:44	FS was teaching assistant under Peterson in course intended for nursing and home economics majors. FS was in charge of all labs in class. Peterson came from Geneva, New York in 1915 or 1920. FS worked in Peterson's lab on his fermentation problems.

00:18:05	After another year, he got a raise. FS got along with Steenbock. Describes glass instrument that Steenbock gave FS which had a device on it which could achieve very low pressures. Hart and Elvehjem had been studying pellagra and found that dogs also suffer from it. They discovered that if dogs ate liver, they would be healthy. They used filtrate from a huge amount of liver which had been boiled down to try and figure out what substance it was that made dogs healthy and prevented pellagra.

00:25:07	After he came in 1932, he got a Rockefeller fellowship to study in Switzerland with Paul Kaner for about a year. Then he went to Utrecht, Holland and studied with Professor Koegl. Koegl was working with very small amounts of materials and analyzing them. FS stayed there for eight months and then returned in 1936.  One or two years later, he was made assistant professor.

00:27:26	In early years of biochemistry department one made one's own equipment. FS was interested in problem of isolating substances from a natural medium which has hundreds of thousands of possibilities.

00:28:43	Important discoveries. Folke Skoog was studying plant materials in an amorphous form. He was trying to get a whole plant to grow from one section of plant. He soon discovered that if one added coconut milk to a growing plant it would be sure to grow. So he wanted to find out what nutrient was in coconut milk. Anecdote about one of Skoog's students trying coconut milk.

00:34:41	Gave a talk on it once to a packed crowd. He told how he found structure of substance. Now one of major products to use in growing plants and animals.

00:36:38	Elvehjem and Hart had at least four Ph.D. students working on distilling and purifying liver distillate. They were getting closer but substance was like molasses. Heated substance and it turned out to be an amino. Link was a specialist in finding out what a substance was using a very small sample. He and a student worked all night to finish analysis. From this, empirical formula could be calculated.

00:42:09	Next day, Elvehjem, Link, Hart and others involved in project all knew that a substance had been found. Everyone on project got names on paper, eventually published on pellagra cure. Spies and Elvehjem collaborated quite a bit and this led to its being tested on people, with miraculous results.

00:44:33	FS worked many nights and weekends on this project and others. Link claimed credit for anti-pellagra vitamin; E.B. Fred straightened him out on this. Bob Madden, a graduate student, also claimed credit. FS discusses his personal life, his two wives.

00:55:02	FS's second wife, Dorothy Hussemann, was an assistant professor of Home Economics. Link was extremely erratic. Describes Link's work on anti-coagulant.  Arthur Strumman told Link to patent it. Story of Link and Steenbock having a fist fight in corridor.

00:59:21	Question regarding space in biochemistry building. FS had his office in William Peterson's for a while.

01:01:36	Committee work. FS was on campus planning committee and also on Madison Campus Planning Committee and on Faculty Advisory Committee on Parking.

01:03:21	Question regarding department faculty meetings. FS's suggestion that faculty contribute own journals to library. Anderson was chair of library committee.  Chairs of department, Elvehjem, etc. FS didn't want to be chairman. FS went to Ag College faculty meetings sometimes. Anecdote about farmer's cows dying after eating moldy corn.

01:08:01	FS solved this problem in lab. He found that mold produced highly poisonous chemical. Russians are now dropping this chemical on Afghans; it is called T-Two. It takes only a small amount on skin to kill animal or human.

01:13:40	Discusses Dean Pound and Froker; FS didn't know them very well.

01:14:17	FS didn't have a joint appointment with biochemistry and food science. Fight over deanship of Home Economics. FS worked with Helen Parsons. FS's wife, Dorothy, taught course there.

01:17:54	Campus Planning Committee. FS was recommended by Van Potter to serve on National Institute for Researchers. Each went over 30-40 applicants and chose best to recommend. Worked for nine years on this committee.

01:20:16	Reactions to student protests. He feels that they should have a say, but they were too destructive. Comments on recent Eldridge Cleaver heckling incident.

01:22:38	Feelings about WARF, feels it is a good thing for University. University gets 85% of money coming from research.

01:24:39	Arthur Hasler, who is in charge of water lab, is an old friend. Discusses David Green, who had a lot of crazy ideas, but who did good work in Enzyme Institute.

1:29:07	End of interview. 

END