September 7, 1967

Dr. Kermit Gordon
Prs5idant
Brookfngs Institution
Waehington, D.C.

Dear Dr. Gordon:

After our very gratifying conversation last spring I feel I should
keep you up to date vith respect to my intentions about spending some
time in Waohfngton.  For the time being I decided to postpone any ex-
tended translocation but when the right tima does arrive I am sure
that I will vant to turn back to you again to ask about the possibility
of some personal arrangement with the Brookinga InatStution.  For the
moment, laowever, any such plans vi11 have to be in cold storage. I
have decided to take an appointraent to pkie National Mental Health
Council as one v8y of participating in aoma ecience politilal affair6
during the next couple of year5.  Hovever this vi11 only involve the
usual few brief trips a year.

I would also like to take the opportunity to introduce to you the name
of Dr. Alexander Bollaender who has also vritten the enclosed prospectus.
I suggest that his idaas deserve to be taken rather more seriously than
the tone of this document might laad you to.  It does read rather too
much like an industrial proposal and this does uot do justice to either
tha sincerity or the probable quality of what Dr. Hollaender and his
group could put into such an enterprise.       L
You will be able to look him up in the usual bibliographic sources but'
let me just say that he ha5 been Director of the Biology Division of the
Oak Ridge Eational Laboratories far the psrst tventy years.  By universal
acclaimation he ha5 done a s$lendid job in the organization and mainten-
anca of the quality and morale of that organization.  In particular he
showed great wisdom and effectiveness in maintaining tha proper balance

.:_ A-`
  L..


Dr. Kermit Gordon
page two
September 7, 1967

between satiefying applied demands related to the atomic energy mission
of those laboratories and the continuation of an atzaosphere in which
first class basic research could flourish. Dr. Hollaender has just re-
tired front that position - he is now approaching the ago of 69; he is
nevertheless an extremely alert and effective person with very broad
interests and very many contacts throughout world biology. I do not
know exactly what form his proposed organization should take but it is
idealisticllly motivated and I believe it would be worth any tine thst
you could give to talk with him to help with its orientation and realiza-
tion.  I might even make the presuraptuous suggestion that some form of
affiliation vith the Bookings Institution might be mutually profitable.

You will, I think, SQB some parallelism between the aims of the planning
activities that Dr. hollaander contlrmplatsa and some ot the kinds of work
that I; had in mind for myself as a Washington experience.

At any rate I hope this letter may raeme to introduce him to you when he
oeeka to make an appointment at some time in tha next several weeks.

Yours sinceraly,

JL:bm

Joshua Lederberg
Professor of 24edieine

bee:  Dr. Alexander Hollaender