Albert Schatz (scientist)

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Albert Schatz
Born	February 2, 1920(1920-02-02)
Died	January 17, 2005 (aged 84) Philadelphia
Cause of death	Pancreatic cancer
Occupation	Scientist
Employers	Rutgers (1943) Temple University (1969)
Known for	Streptomycin
Partner	Selman Waksman

Albert Schatz (2 February 1920 – 17 January 2005) was a scientist who was eventually named the co-discoverer of streptomycin, an antibiotic remedy used to treat tuberculosis and a number of other diseases. In 1943, at age 23, Schatz returned to graduate school and took the dangerous job of looking for an antibiotic for tuberculosis, working alone in a basement laboratory at Cook College in Rutgers University. After 3 months Schatz isolated two strains of Actinobacteria, which could effectively cease the growth of several penicillin-resistant bacteria, on October 19, 1943. ^[1]

[edit] Biography

Originally, the discovery of streptomycin was credited only to Schatz's supervisor, Selman Waksman, who would later receive a Nobel Prize in 1952 for this work. Schatz, however, strongly contested the crediting and in 1950 brought litigation against Waksman, requesting recognition as streptomycin's co-discoverer and a portion of streptomycin royalties. Schatz's requests were eventually granted in an out-of-court settlement.

Dr. Schatz held faculty positions at Brooklyn College; the National Agricultural College in Doylestown, Pennsylvania; the University of Chile; and joined the Temple University faculty in 1969. He retired from Temple University in 1980.

Schatz was awarded the Rutgers medal in 1994 for his work on developing streptomycin.

Schatz was a socialist, an active environmentalist and was involved in local welfare, co-operatives and community recycling projects. An example of his community involvement is that until two years before his death, Schatz volunteered at the nearby Weavers Way (co-op) sharpening knives.

Schatz died from pancreatic cancer at his home in Philadelphia in 2005.

Albert Schatz's archives have been donated to the Temple University Library.

[edit] External links

• The Guardian article on Albert Schatz
• Memoirs at Rutgers Oral History Archives
• Schatz on fluoridation
• Weavers Way Co-op.
• San Diego Union-Tribune obituary
• Rutgers Focus obituary
• Streptomycin, Schatz v. Waksman, and the Balance of Credit for Discovery
• The Official Website for Albert Schatz, Ph. D.

[edit] References