S am emlosing a carbon copy of our proposed budget for $939~1940,

whirsh 18 belnp; oawmnioat~ to you raparstelg by Professor Yilllkan.

I wish to take thin op~rtunity alro to tell yen what I think of the progress

which has been made this ymr with the aid of the Rockefeller Gr.mt.

      DZ'. Miemann is doing very well in hir work, ,md we all feel that

we were very fortunate to be able to add him to 0'0~ staff. Ha is working

especially on the mjor problm of the nnturo of the fatty subetanma of

brain and mrve tfsstm, <and also has several other problems under way, with

the Qo~laborstion of other staff mbers and eaduate atudento.

     IX. &&ish seems to have finally 8wceed8d in his diffiuu3t tamk

of isolating a plant wound hormone.  S?ctring the lsst year he haa been

collabomtiag mostly with ~Fmfeasor EfaaCgem4mit, and hLa sumess is probabLp

due in considerable part to Ha&+gn-Smites extensive experience in lrsolation

techniqIMm.  &@lsh has fuxmd that various cofactors are involved, in

addit ion to the hormone that he hria iroldad, and it ia probable that a

Rood bit of lnterre:3fng work can now be done in this field.

     ?%. 33uchnuri h ;s cant inued work on the physio~ogio~l act ion of

anal%8 of vitamin B, gettltng fn this wag clues to the mechanism of Da

act ivlty.  Re has also been ayntheslning cyolopropene-and cyclobutene and

atteqting the synthesis of cyclobutadisne, which IP a compound of great

theoret ical interest.


Dr. Warren Weaver

w 22, 1939

    lk. Koepflf hsr continued his colltborvtion with Went, and has
synthesized a number of r\zbrtames with auxin activity. He is now attajk-
lng a now problem, the fsolatioa *and investI@ ion of the aative principle
of mar13uaaar in oollaborst ion with Prof emor Hmgen-Smit.  Dr. wblltsfn

,md Professor Luawi hme oontirmed work on the Waldm inversion and related

problem&  Dr. Winstein has been given a Rational Research E'allowship for
the coming yewe and will work with Professor Bartlett at Ilesward.

    fn the moleotilar etructuse field the most significant progress
ha been made in the x-r`q attack on the strwture of simple substanoes

related to proteins.  Vp to a year ago there had been no complete arystal
structure detemlnetian made of any amino aold or peptide, OP any other
subrtmze Csroeely related to proteins.  At that time Dr. Gcwey , Senior Bellow
in Resaamh here, completed his complete structure detrrmination of d&et+-
piperazine, whio;h. gave very interesting inform& ion regarding the peptide bon&
A few months ago Dr. Corey and Mr. .4lbre&t coqlatted their slwfhr inwesti-
@&ion of a-glyaine, the first Amino acid for w%-~ioh a strnatrre detcsmimtion

hm been mde.  Dr. Corqr, IIre beJr, and Dr. Hughes are now working on other

ramino ao ids and peptides.

    f thfnk that it would be wise to gather this inform&ion as gafakly
as possible, and we are p2mning to construct some addltfonal apparatus,
including a meohanical integrating microphotomet er ;znd a 3'ourier calculator
of new design, in ordsr to speed up the work. Dr. Comy is going to devote
his efforts largely to x-ray work on proteins thcratoelvem from now on.
    Wothing very intereating has turned up -in the hemoglobin field so
far this year. but Thsorell is ,going to be here next month, md is briqfng


Dr. Warren W'rraver

c-
3               kv 22, 1939

his supply of cytouhrow C with him far magnetic investigation. Dr. Hcrrrtron

Darieclr d-me Rational Besearah Bellowshlp in Medicine hw been renewed for
the yeax 39Jg-2940, bar begun the synther ia of hemoglobin analogs, involri~

porphyrins other than groteporphyrin, and lt la likely thrst some rery

interertlng remltr will come oat of hfa work,

     Thrilectron diffraction tnvemtlgatiens have led to the deterain&lon

of the rtructaras of many molecules of inter&diats complaxity, inalud%ng

slnbstancss #uch as pyx~ole MI%& enter into the 6traoture of substances of

biological Smportanoer but as yet no substance of btological inrpoHanaet has

beem rtudibd by this wthob

There has not been wh thsoretioal work done in the laboratory thir

year*  f p&~llsh& In the Ihoembw Fhyripl Rwrler a wall 0ontrOPibutfon

on the natnro of the bond@ in metals, and, since the visit of Bthwarrenbacrh

last mmwm, f have bean d@voting some effort .to the attempt to drv&#p a
theory of the actlor 05 or$&.nio mola#rdlar~ wfthout IELIuzh 8uccees~ howerar.

      WI th best regmd8, I am

                       Sincerely yours,