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Britton Chance

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For his son of the same name, seeBritton Chance Jr.
Britton Chance
FRS,D.Sc
Britton Chance (Photo byRon Kroon,1965)
Born(1913-07-24)July 24, 1913
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania,U.S.
DiedNovember 16, 2010(2010-11-16)(aged 97)
Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,U.S.
Alma materHaverford School(1931)

University of Pennsylvania(B.A) (1935)
University of Pennsylvania(M.A.) (1936)

University of Pennsylvania(Ph.D) (1940)
Cambridge University(Ph.D) (1942)
Known forKinetics of fast enzyme-catalysed reactions
Optical imaging
MRI
Sailing
SpousesJane Earle, Lilian Streeter Lucas, Shoko Nioka
Childrenfour from first marriage, includingBritton Chance Jr.,Jan Chance;four from second marriage
Parents
  • Edwin Mickley Chance (father)
  • Eleanor Kent (mother)
AwardsNational Medal of Science

President's Certificate of Merit
Gold Medal for Distinguished Service to Medicine,College of Physicians

Olympic Gold medal in 5.5-meter sailing
Scientific career
FieldsBiophysics,Biochemistry
InstitutionsUniversity of Pennsylvania

National Cheng Kung University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Norwegian Nobel Institute

Medical Diagnostic Research Foundation
Medal record
Men'ssailing
RepresentingtheUnited States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1952 Helsinki 5.5 metre class
World Championship
Gold medal – first place 1962 Poole 5.5 metre class

Britton "Brit" ChanceForMemRS(July 24, 1913 – November 16, 2010) was an American biochemist, biophysicist, scholar, and inventor whose work helped developspectroscopyas a way to diagnose medical problems.[1][2]He was "a world leader in transforming theoretical science into useful biomedical and clinical applications" and is considered "the founder of the biomedical photonics."[3][4]He received the National Medal of Science in 1974.[1]

He also was an Olympic athlete who won a gold medal in sailing for the United States at the1952 Summer Olympicsin the5.5 Metre Class.[5]

Early life and education

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Chance was born inWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.[1]His parents were Eleanor Kent andEdwin Mickley Chance,president of United Engineers and Constructors, Inc, which built power plants.[6][7]His father was also a mining engineer, chemist, and inventor who held a number of metallurgical patents and created a device that detected carbon monoxide in coal mines using a chemical reaction.[8][9][10][6]Chance's paternal grandfather, Henry Martyn Chance, was a noted geologist and mining engineer who also had a medical degree.[11]

When he was a teenager, the family moved toHaverford, Pennsylvania.[12][3]His family had a summer home inMantoloking, New Jerseywhere he learned to sail on his father's yachtAntares.[9][12][13][2]He also sailed inAntillesand thePanama Canal Zone.[14]When he was 13 years old, he became a licensed as aradiotelegraphoperator and built his first powerful radio transmitter.[15][16]

He graduated from theHaverford Schoolin 1931.[10]He attended the University of Pennsylvania where he received a bachelor's degree in physical chemistry in 1935, and aM.A.in microbiology in 1936.[1][14][9]While at Penn, he was a member ofSt. Anthony Halland of the professional and scientific honorary societiesAlpha Chi Sigma,Sigma Tau,andTau Beta Pi.[14][17]He was also the business manager ofThe Pennsylvania Triangle,the student newspaper.[18]As a graduate student he developed a microflow version of astopped-flowapparatus.[14]

Around the time he was 17, he invented an auto-steering device for ships, receiving a patent in 1937.[1][9][16]He tested the device on a trip to the West Indies using his father's yacht in 1935.[10]In March 1938, theGeneral Electric Company[19]hired him to test the auto-steering device on a round trip from England to Australia on theMS New Zealand Star,a 20,000-ton refrigerator ship.[9][10][15]In return, the company paid his tuition toCambridge University.[20]

In 1938, Chance enrolled in Cambridge University.[20]He came back to the United States to visit his parents but was unable to return to Cambridge and England because of World War II.[20]He returned to the University of Pennsylvania and received aPh.Ddegree inphysical chemistryin 1940.[14][20]

In 1943, he received a second Ph.D. from Cambridge University in biology and physiology, followed by a D.Sc. from Cambridge in 1952.[1][13][20]

Career

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In 1941, Chance became an assistant professor of biophysics and physical biochemistry in the school of medicine at theUniversity of Pennsylvania.[14]DuringWorld War II,he worked for theRadiation Laboratoryat theMassachusetts Institute of Technologywhich was working on the development of radar. He became a member of the Steering Committee and head of the Precision Circuits Section, supervising some 300 physicists.[9][15]They developed radar technology that allowed blimps to spot German submarines, as well as a “ground position indicator” to allow more accurate bombing.[1][10]He also developed analog electronic computers to calculate non-linear processes and helped developENIAC,of the world's first general-purpose computer.[4]

After World War II, he received aGuggenheim Fellowshipthat allowed him to work inStockholmfor two years with scientistHugo Theorellat theNobel Institute.[14][3]Their work resulted in seven papers in theJournal of Biological Chemistry.[9]It also let to Theorell winning theNobel Prizein 1955.[9]

In 1949, he became a professor of biophysics at theUniversity of Pennsylvania School of Medicineand was appointed the second director of the Eldridge Reeves Johnson Foundation for Research in Medical Physics, a position he held until 1983.[14][1]He was then appointed E. R. Johnson Professor of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry (later renamed as Biochemistry and Biophysics) in 1964 and university professor in 1977.[14]

Early in his career, Chance worked on enzyme structure and function, developing methods to study the pre-steady-state phase of reactions.[21][22][23]He invented the now standardstopped-flowdevice to measure the existence of the enzyme-substrate complex in enzyme reaction.[24] He is considered the founder ofbiomedical photonics,which is now a research field covering biology, medicine, and physics.[4]Starting in the late 1980s, he developed variousnear-infrared spectroscopyandphoton diffusionimaging methods.[4]He was also a pioneer in the numerical simulations ofbiochemical reactionsandmetabolic pathways.[25][26][21]In the 2000s, he developed molecular imaging beacons for cancer detection and diagnosis, predicting cancer aggressiveness in muscles, breast tissue, and the brain.[4][14][6]

Chance became an emeritus professor at theUniversity of Pennsylvaniain 1983.[1][4]He became the president of the Medical Diagnostic Research Foundation inPhiladelphiain 1995.[14]He was visiting distinguished chair professor atNational Cheng Kung UniversityinTaiwan,from 2009 to 2010.[27]

Publications

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Chance published about 392 articles with 28947 citations (h= 92) as of 19 May 2022. The following is a selection of his key papers:

  • Chance, B. and Theorell, H. "Studies on liver alcohol dehydrogenase 2. The kinetics of the compound of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase and reduced diphosphopyridine nucleotide."Acta Chemica Scandinavica.5 (7-8): 1127-1144 (1951)[28]
  • Chance, B. and Williams, G. R. "Respiratory enzymes in oxidative phosphorylation. I. Kinetics of oxygen utilization."Journal of Biological Chemistry.217 (1) 383-393 (1955)[28]
  • Chance, B. and Williams, G.R. "The respiratory chain and oxidative phosphorylation."Advances in Enzymology and Related Subjects of Biochemistry.17: 65-134 (1956)[28]
  • Chance, B; Ito, T. and Nishimura, M. "Studies on bacterial photophosphorylation 3. A sensitive and rapid method of determination of photophosphorylation."Biochimica et Biophysica Acta.59 (1): 177-182 (1962)[28]
  • Chance, B. "Energy-linked reaction of calcium with mitochondria."Journal of Biological Chemistry.240 (6): 2729-2728 (1965)[28]
  • Chance, B., Boveris, A. "Mitochondrial generation of hydrogen-peroxide – General properties and effect of hyperbaric-oxygen."Biochemical Journal.134 (3): 707-716 (1973)[28]
  • Chance, B.; Sies, H. and Boveris, A. "Hydroperoxide metabolism in mammalian organs."Physiological Reviews.59 (3): 527-605 (1979)[28]
  • Chance, B. and Yodh, A. "Spectroscopy and imaging with diffusing light."Physics Today.48 (3): 34-40 (1995)[28]

Professional affiliations

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Chance was elected to theUnited States National Academy of Sciencesin 1950.[14][8]He became a resident member of theAmerican Philosophical Societyin 1958, and served on PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower'sScience Advisory Committeefrom 1959 to 1960.[29][30]

He was elected as a foreign member of theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciencesin Medical Sciences in 1968, theWistar Institutein 1969, theGerman Academy of Sciences Leopoldinain 1971, theRoyal Societyin 1981,and The International Society for Optical Engineeringin 2007.[8][31][9]He also became aFellow of the American Physical Societyin 2007, and a Fellow inInstitute for Corean-American Studies.[32][8]

He was a Harvey Lecturer at theNew York Academy of Medicinein 1954, a Phillips Lecturer at theUniversity of Pittsburghin 1956 and 1965, and a Pepper Lecturer at theUniversity of Pennsylvaniain 1957.[32]In 1986, he gave the keynote address at the 152nd national meeting of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of ScienceinPhiladelphia.[10]

He was a member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences,theAmerican Chemical Society,theInstitute of Radio Engineers,and theSociety of Biological Chemists.[8]He cofounded theBiophysical Societyand theJournal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences.[4]

He was also vice president of theAmerican Philosophical Society,chairman of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science,president of theInternational Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics,president of theInternational Society of Oxygen Transport to Tissue,president for theSociety for Free Radical Research International,and a board member of theInternational Federation of Institutes for Advanced Study.[32][12][4]

Awards

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Honors

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Sailing and Olympics

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Chance won many sailing championships through theBarnegat Bay Yacht Racing Associationfrom the late 1930s to the 1950s, including coming in first place for Class E Sloops in the first-ever Barnegat Bay Regatta in 1938.[12][38]In the 1950s and 1960s, he competed in the United States Olympic sailing trials and also chaired the national governing body of sailing.[10][12]In March 1952, he won the Giovannelli Cup with his sailboatComplexin a regatta off of Lido Dabaro, Italy.[39]

For the1952 Summer Olympics,5.5-meterclass was a new category.[20]Chance earned a spot on the United States Olympic team for the 5.5-meter class because he was the only entry in the trials; he had a 5.5-meter craft,Complex II,custom built as soon as the new Olympic category was announced.[20]His crew consisted of friends and former crewmates from theMantoloking Yacht Club—teenagerMichael Schoettleand twinsEdgar WhiteandSumner White.[20]

In July 1952 inHelsinki, Finland,the US team won an Olympic gold medal in the 5.5 Metre Class, with Chance serving as helmsman and captain of theComplex II.[12][10][40][6]They won three of seven races in the competition, but only won the gold because, in the seventh race, Chance blocked Norway'sPeder Lunde's wind, putting him out of contention.[20]In 1955, he was elected treasurer of theUnited States Olympians,the organization of former Olympic athletes.[41]

In 1956, he came in first place inBermuda,winning theEdward Prince of Wales Trophy.[42]In 1961, his team won the 5.5 Meter Class in the international Baltic Regatta sponsored by the U.S.S.R.[43]He also won the 5.5 Metre Class World Championship in 1962 inEngland,sailingComplex III"with superb helmsmanship and clever sailing tactics"[44][12]

Chance was inducted into the Barnegat Bay Sailing Hall of Fame in 2004.[12]In an interview he said, “I wouldn't be without sailing. That would be unendurable for me.”[12]

Personal

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Chance married seventeen-year-old Jane Earle on March 4, 1938.[10]The two spent their three-month-long honeymoon on a ship bound for Australia, testing one of his inventions for British General Electric Co.[10][20]

Before divorcing, they had four children: Eleanor Chance,Britton Chance Jr.,Jan Chance,and Peter Chance.[45][46][6]His daughter Jan Change O'Malley was namedUS Sailor of the Year(now called US Sailing's Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year) in 1969, 1970, and 1977 byUS Sailing.[47]His son Britton was a naval architect who designed sailboats for the Olympics and theAmerica's Cup.[48]

He married Lilian Streeter Lucas in November 1956. They had 4 children: Margaret Chance, Lilian Chance, Benjamin Chance, and Samuel Chance.[10]However, they also divorced.[6]

In February 2010, he married his research associate and biochemist, Shoko Nioka, Ph.D. in Taiwan in a traditional Chinese ceremony.[6][20]At the age of 97, Chance died in theHospital of the University of Pennsylvaniain Philadelphia in November 2010.[49][1]

References

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  1. ^abcdefghijk"Dr. Britton Chance".Legacy.com.2010-11-30.Retrieved2022-03-12.
  2. ^ab"Remembering Britton Chance".OCC News.Oxygen Club of California. December 2010. Archived fromthe originalon August 21, 2015 – via Wayback Machine.
  3. ^abc"11/23/10, Deaths - Almanac, Vol. 57, No. 13".almanac.upenn.edu.Retrieved2022-04-20.
  4. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuLi, Lin (May 2011). "Special Section in Memory of Professor Britton Chance".Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences.4(2): v–vii.doi:10.1142/S1793545811001526.
  5. ^"USA Olympic Sailing Alumni".US Sailing.2020.
  6. ^abcdefgWeber, Bruce (2010-11-29)."Britton Chance, Olympian and Biophysics Researcher, Dies at 97".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2022-04-20.
  7. ^"E. M. Chance Dead; Chemist, Inventor"(PDF).The New York Times.November 28, 1954. p. 86.RetrievedApril 19,2022.
  8. ^abcdef"Britton Chance Papers".University Archives and Records Center.Retrieved2022-04-19.
  9. ^abcdefghijk"Britton Chance Papers".American Philosophical Society.RetrievedApril 19,2022.
  10. ^abcdefghijkNaedele, Walter F. (2015-08-21)."Scientist specialized in reactions".Philly.com. Archived fromthe originalon August 21, 2015.Retrieved2022-04-20.
  11. ^"Dr. H. M. Chance 81, Geologist, is Dead"(PDF).The New York Times.February 21, 1937. p. 36.RetrievedApril 19,2022.
  12. ^abcdefghijklm"Britton Chance: 1913 - 2010".Britton Chance.Retrieved2022-04-19.
  13. ^ab"Oral-History:Britton Chance".ETHW.2021-01-26.Retrieved2022-04-19.
  14. ^abcdefghijklmnop"Britton Chance Biography".Penn University Archives and Records Center.2020.
  15. ^abcDutton, P. Leslie (November 11, 2010)."Britton Chance"(PDF).Physics Today:65–66. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on November 30, 2015 – via Wayback Machine.
  16. ^abDutton, P. Leslie (December 16, 2010)."Retrospective: Britton Chance (1913–2010)"(PDF).Science.330(6011): 1641.doi:10.1126/science.1200976.PMID21164008.S2CID206531395.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on November 30, 2015 – via Wayback Machine.
  17. ^"Necrology"(PDF).The Review.St. Anthony Hall. Winter: 14. 2013.
  18. ^"U. of P. Papers Take Tenth of Students"(PDF).The New York Times.November 24, 1935. p. 99.RetrievedApril 19,2022.
  19. ^The British company GEC, not to be confused with the American companyGeneral Electric(GE).
  20. ^abcdefghijkMaugh II, Thomas H. (2010-12-05)."Britton Chance dies at 97; pioneer in study of ultra-fast reactions in human biology".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved2022-04-23.
  21. ^abChance, B (1943)."The kinetics of the enzyme-substrate compound of peroxidase".J. Biol. Chem.151(2): 553–577.doi:10.1016/S0021-9258(18)44929-0.
  22. ^Chance, Britton (1942). "Photoelectric Colorimeter for Rapid Reactions".Review of Scientific Instruments.13(4): 158–161.Bibcode:1942RScI...13..158C.doi:10.1063/1.1770004.
  23. ^Chance, Britton (1940). "The accelerated flow method for rapid reactions".Journal of the Franklin Institute.229(6): 737–766.doi:10.1016/S0016-0032(40)90963-2.
  24. ^Kresge N, Simoni RD, Hill RL. Britton Chance: Olympian and Developer of Stop-Flow Methods. J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 279, Issue 50, 10, December 10, 2004.
  25. ^Chance, B., Greenstein, D. S., Higgins, J. & Yang, C. C. The mechanism of catalase action. II. Electric analog computer studies. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 37, 322–339 (1952).
  26. ^Chance, Britton and Garfinkel, David and Higgins, Joseph and Hess, Benno. Metabolic control mechanisms. V. A solution for the equations representing interaction between glycolysis and respiration in ascites tumor cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 235, 2726-2439 (1960)
  27. ^"NCKU develops cancer detector for home use, Taipei Times, 2009".11 April 2009.
  28. ^abcdefgh"Important publications".Britton Chance: His Life, Times, and Legacy.Web Archive. 2016-03-04. Archived fromthe originalon March 4, 2016.Retrieved2022-04-19.
  29. ^"Science Aides Named"(PDF).The New York Times.March 1, 1959. p. 73.RetrievedApril 19,2022.
  30. ^"APS Member History".search.amphilsoc.org.Retrieved2021-01-28.
  31. ^"List of Members".www.leopoldina.org.Retrieved19 October2017.
  32. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstu"Britton Chance Biographic Sketch".Institute for Corean-American Studies.Retrieved2022-04-19.
  33. ^"Britton Chance, 1913-2010".PaulingBlog.Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections & Archives Research Center. 2010-12-16.Retrieved2022-04-19.
  34. ^National Science Foundation - The President's National Medal of Science
  35. ^"NCKU" Inducts "Two World Class Scientists, 2008".Archived fromthe originalon 2020-07-27.Retrieved2020-05-26.
  36. ^"ISOT Awards".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-01-16.Retrieved2010-07-05.
  37. ^SPIE honors Britton Chance with new biomedical optics award
  38. ^"Chance Triumphs at Seaside Park"(PDF).The New York Times.July 25, 1937. p. 61.RetrievedApril 19,2022.
  39. ^"U.S. Yacht Wins Giovannelli Cup"(PDF).The New York Times.March 13, 1952. p. 40.RetrievedApril 19,2022.
  40. ^"Whiton and Chance Capture Titles by Sailing Home First at Helsinki"(PDF).The New York Times.July 29, 1952. p. 24.RetrievedApril 19,2022.
  41. ^"Olympians Elect Bacon"(PDF).The New York Times.June 12, 1955. p. 207.RetrievedApril 19,2022.
  42. ^"Chance Retains Lead"(PDF).The New York Times.April 16, 1956. p. 33.RetrievedApril 19,2022.
  43. ^"U.S. Yachtsmen Lead"(PDF).The New York Times.June 24, 1961. p. 15.RetrievedApril 19,2022.
  44. ^"Complex III of U.S. Wins 5.5 Meter Sailing Crown"(PDF).The New York Times.June 27, 1962. p. 29.RetrievedApril 19,2022.
  45. ^Weber, Bruce (2012-10-18)."Britton Chance Jr., Designer of America's Cup Boats, Dies at 72".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2022-03-02.
  46. ^"Colie, Merrick embody spirit of Shore sailing".Asbury Park Press.24 October 1999. pp. H15 – viaProQuest.
  47. ^"US Sailing's Rolex Yachtsman & Yachtswoman of the Year Awards - US Sailing".2021-08-07. Archived from the original on 2021-08-07. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
  48. ^Weber, Bruce. "Britton Chance Jr., Designer of America's Cup Boats, Dies at 72",The New York Times,October 18, 2012. Accessed November 4, 2012.
  49. ^Weber, Bruce (2010-11-28)."Britton Chance, Olympian and Biophysics Researcher, Dies at 97".The New York Times.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-09-05.Retrieved2010-11-30.
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