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Donald J. Cram papers, 1937-2002
570  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Restrictions on Access
  • Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
  • Preferred Citation
  • UCLA Catalog Record ID
  • Provenance/Source of Acquisition
  • Processing Information
  • Biography/History
  • Scope and Content
  • Organization and Arrangement
  • Related Material

  • Title: Donald J. Cram papers
    Collection number: 570
    Contributing Institution: UCLA Library Special Collections
    Language of Material: English
    Physical Description: 18.2 linear ft. (16 cartons, 3 flat boxes, 2 document boxes and 1 half document box)
    Date (inclusive): 1937-2002
    Abstract: Donald J. Cram, a Nobel Prize-winning organic chemist, came to UCLA in August of 1947 where he taught and conducted research for over four decades. The field of host-guest complexation chemistry was in large part developed by Cram and his research group at UCLA. Through this work, the interactions between enzymes and their substrates in a living cell were mimicked using synthetic molecules. The collection includes correspondence, lectures, publications, UCLA theses and dissertations, scrapbooks, patent notebooks, honorary medals, molecular models, photographs, his signature bow-tie and Nobel Prize.
    Language of Materials: Materials are in English.
    Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.
    creator: Cram, Donald J.

    Restrictions on Access

    Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.

    Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

    Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Donald J. Cram papers (Collection 570). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

    UCLA Catalog Record ID

    UCLA Catalog Record ID: 4769630 

    Provenance/Source of Acquisition

    The Donald J. Cram papers arrived in two batches: Aug 1 and Nov. 17, 2001. The papers came from Cram's UCLA office (3060 Young Hall) and from Cram's residence in Palm Desert via Caroline Cram, his widow. University Archivist Charlotte B. Brown boxed-up both accessions.

    Processing Information

    This collection was initially processed by UCLA Library Special Collections staff. Additions processed by Kelly Besser, 2013.

    Biography/History

    Donald J. Cram was born April 22, 1919 in Chester, Vermont. During the summers of 1938 to 1941, Cram worked for the National Biscuit Company in New York City, at first as a salesman and then as a laboratory technician involved in the analysis of cheeses for moisture and fat content. According to Cram's Nobel autobiography, "Chemical research became my god, and the conducting of it, my act of prayer, from 1938 to the present." This spiritual journey and Cram's academic mastery of Organic Chemistry began with a B.S. from Rollins College in 1941, an M.S. from the University of Nebraska in 1942 and finally a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1947. Cram came to UCLA in August of 1947 where he taught and conducted research for over four decades. A stereochemist in molecular organic chemistry, in 1952 Cram developed the rule of asymmetric induction, discovered phenonium ions, and in large part developed the field of host-guest complexation chemistry with his research group at UCLA. Through this work the interactions between enzymes and their substrates in a living cell were mimicked using synthetic molecules. The creation of this field of host-guest chemistry led to his Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1987 and the President's National Medal of Science in 1993. Donald J. Cram died in Palm Desert, California on June 17, 2001.

    Scope and Content

    The collection includes correspondence, master reprint file, UCLA theses and dissertations of advisees, patent notebooks, honorary medals, molecular models, Nobel Prize, signature bow tie, photographs and scrapbooks related to the activities and career of Donald J. Cram at the UCLA Department of Chemistry and as a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

    Organization and Arrangement

    This collection has been arranged in the following series: Series 1: Artifacts and ephemera, 1958-1992. Series 2: Awards, lectureships and symposia, 1955-2001. Series 3: Book/Chapter illustrations, 1993-1994. Series 4: Correspondence, 1961-2001. Series 5: Grants, 1974-1999. Series 6: Patents, 1974-1991. Series 7: Publications - drafts, 1991-2000. Series 8: Publications - reprints, 1943-2000. Series 9: Theses, 1950-1990. Series 10: Academic and professional records, 1942-2002. Series 11: Photographs and scrapbooks, 1937-2001. Series 12: Obituaries and memorial programs, 2000-2001.

    Related Material

    Times of My Life: Donald J. Cram [oral history transcript] / Donald J. Cram, interviewee. UCLA Center for Oral History Research interview, 1998. UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Cram, Donald J. --Archives.
    University of California, Los Angeles. Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry --Faculty --Archival resources.
    Chemists --California --Archival resources.