NOBEL EFFORTS: Kornberg mixed research groups in the labs. Stanford News Service

Even at a school replete with towering intellects, colleagues describe Arthur Kornberg as “legendary.” During the decade Watson and Crick described the chemical structure of DNA, Kornberg was purifying the enzyme—polymerase 1—that is responsible for the reassembly of two halves of a double helix. This understanding of the chemical process that goes on in living cells enabled scientists to create drugs for cancer and viral infections (like, eventually, HIV/AIDS) by preventing the virus from reproducing itself. The work earned Kornberg a Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, which he shared with Severo Ochoa, who did similar work with RNA.

Kornberg, professor of biochemistry at the School of Medicine for nearly 50 years, died October 26 at Stanford Hospital. He was 89.

Brooklyn-born Kornberg earned his bachelor's degree from the City College of New York in 1937 and his medical degree from the University of Rochester in 1941. He was an officer in the U.S. Public Health Service and did stints studying enzymology at New York University and at Washington University in St. Louis.

In 1959, the year he won the Nobel, Kornberg came to Stanford as chair of the new department of biochemistry. He set up the department with shared lab space so that research groups mixed, creating a spirit of cooperation. Five of the department's original members worked together for nearly 50 years, training generations of leaders in biomedical research. “We came to be known as probably the premier department in the country,” said Paul Berg, Nobel laureate and professor emeritus in biochemistry. In his 70s, Kornberg shifted his attention to a long chain of phosphates called poly P, which he felt could lead to revolutionary drugs for fighting infection. In addition to the Nobel Prize, he won numerous awards, including the National Medal of Science. He was president of the American Society of Biological Chemistry in 1965 and was awarded honorary degrees from 12 universities.

A father of three, Kornberg passed on his interest in science: son Roger won a Nobel Prize in 2006. They were the sixth father-son pair to win the prize. Kornberg's wife of 43 years, Sylvy Ruth Levy Kornberg, died in 1986. She worked in her husband's lab and contributed significantly to his studies of DNA replication in the '50s. His second wife, Charlene Walsh Levering Kornberg, died in 1995. In addition to Roger, Kornberg is survived by his wife, Carolyn Frey Dixon Kornberg; sons Thomas and Kenneth; and eight grandchildren. His legacy also carries on in his children's book, Germ Stories, published in November.

From Stanford (September/October 1997): “Crowe's rise to success is a study in contradictions. He is the maverick who rose to the top of the military with a succession of jobs in Washington rather than a string of commands at sea; the career officer who endorsed the 'draft-dodging' Clinton for president; the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who appeared (as himself) on the television sitcom Cheers. He was the rumpled sailor in the wrinkle-free Navy.”

Admiral William J. Crowe Jr., of Bethesda, Md., died October 18 of cardiac arrest. He was 82. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the Cold War neared its end, he led U.S. troops through the 1986 air raid on Libya and through standoffs with Iran over control of the Persian Gulf, and created an unprecedented relationship with the Soviet military head. The New York Times called him “the most powerful peacetime military officer in American history.”

Born in Kentucky, Crowe, MA '56 (education), earned his bachelor's degree from the U.S. Naval Academy and, after Stanford, received his first command on the diesel sub USS Trout. His PhD at Princeton led him to decline—twice—a position in the nuclear submarine corps. The decision landed him repeatedly in dead-end posts. Still, he found ways to stand out.

REBEL: Crowe was an unlikely leader. Associated Press

A naval order to consider “iconoclasts” for advancement led to Crowe's 1973 promotion to rear admiral.

President Ronald Reagan made him chairman of the Joint Chiefs in 1985. In 1988, he defused a brink-of-war situation by immediately apologizing after a U.S. warship mistakenly shot down a civilian jetliner in the Persian Gulf, killing 290 passengers. But Crowe said the most crucial event of his chairmanship was when he told Reagan that military leaders opposed Reagan's proposal that the United States and the U.S.S.R. eliminate all ballistic missiles in 10 years. The proposal disappeared.

Crowe declined a second four-year term, but did not retire quietly. He condemned the military's anti-gay bias, endorsed Bill Clinton's presidential campaign and served as ambassador to the United Kingdom for three years in the mid-1990s. When he returned to the United States, he taught at the U. of Oklahoma, studied military issues at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and ran BioPort Corp., the nation's only licensed manufacturer of anthrax and rabies vaccines. Three years ago, he was among 27 retired diplomats and military commanders to condemn President George W. Bush's administration's handling of global leadership.

His awards include four Defense Distinguished Service Medals, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star and an Air Medal. In 2000, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Clinton. Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Shirley; two sons, Marine Col. W. Blake and J. Brent; one daughter, Bambi Coval; and four grandchildren.