Father of bioluminescence Emmett Chappelle (1925-2019), is an astrochemist and a biochemist who received an Associate's degree in electrical engineering at Phoenix College. He then received his Bachelor’s of Science degree in 1950 from the University of California Berkeley. In 1954, Chappelle completed his Master’s Degree at the University of Washington, and, in 1958, received his Ph.D. degree from Stanford University.
Chappelle started his research position at the Research Institute of Advanced Studies in 1958, where he found that having plants in spacecraft provides a safe and breathable air for astronauts and minimizes the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. In 1963, Chappelle started working for Hazleton Laboratories, now known as Covance Inc., in Virginia. His research focused on detecting life on other planets by detecting microbial life in extraterrestrial soils. To do this, Chappelle invented an important assay – the ATP fluorescent assay, which detects living cells using the same proteins that fireflies make to glow. Fireflies make luciferin and luciferase which produces light in the presence of ATP. Even though his assay was not used to discover extraterrestrial lives since no extraterrestrial soil was brought back to Earth, it was used to study microbial life on Earth. In 1966, he continued his work on fluorescence and bioluminescence at the Goddard Space Flight Centre at NASA. He developed a laser-induced fluorescent test that could be used to detect bacterial infections in blood and urine and could also be used to measure crop stress. In 1994, Chappelle received NASA’s Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal. Fun fact: he loved photography and built a darkroom in his house to develop his pictures. He also was an avid reader of criminal and mystery novels. Interesting reads: 1." Fireflies' Light Gins New Uses in Medical and Technical Research.", The New York Times, The New York Times, 1975. 2. Dewayne Washington. “Goddard Scientist Inducted Into National Inventors Hall of Fame.” 2007, https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2007/chapelle_award.html Ola Salama Masters student
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AuthorWe are graduate students at the Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba Archives
October 2023
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