Gerald Oster | Medical Science Research at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn During the 1940s-1950s

Background on Gerald Oster:

Gerald Oster was a biophysicist and professor at PIB from 1951-1969 (Kennedy, 1993). Oster taught polymer science at PIB and was also known for his work in the field of photochemistry (Kennedy, 1993). Oster’s studies in physical chemistry were highly relevant to topics of medicine and biology (Kennedy, 1993). For instance, some of Oster’s work included the study of the eyes and visualization (Kennedy, 1993). Oster also used his background in the sciences to pursue an art career by creating visual patterns based on what is seen when the eyes are gently pressed while they are closed (Kennedy, 1993).

$Photograph of Gerald Oster$

Image 1: Photograph of Gerald Oster (Source: Poly Archives)

Although it was noted that Gerald Oster became a professor at PIB in 1951, he was affiliated with the PIB alongside A. Douglas McLaren in 1950 . In 1950, Gerald Oster and A.Douglas McLaren published the work, The Ultraviolet Light and Photosensitized Inactivation of the Tobacco Mosaic Virus (Oster & McLaren, 1950). In this work, Oster and McLaren set out to provide insight through quantitative analyses to understand how ultraviolet radiation could be used to inactivate viruses, in this case the tobacco mosaic virus. They believed this work could provide valuable insight into how ultraviolet radiation could affect biological systems. They also explored the mechanisms responsible for the observed inactivation.

Excerpt from Oster and McLaren’s The Ultraviolet Light and Photosensitized Inactivation of Tobacco Mosaic Virus

Image 2: Excerpt from Oster and McLaren’s The Ultraviolet Light and Photosensitized Inactivation of Tobacco Mosaic Virus (Oster & McLaren, 1950) [highlights added for emphasis]

Correspondence with Linus Pauling About Protein Structure, Nucleic Acids, and Insulin

In 1953, Gerald Oster had several communications with Linus Pauling, who was previously mentioned for his work in understanding the structure of proteins

(NIH National Library of Medicine, 2019). Oster was interested in Pauling’s work on protein structure and had several communications in which he asked for more information on his work and also shared his work on proteins and conclusions that he found that deviated from Pauling’s. Oster was studying proteins and the structure of nucleic acids, specifically, desoxyribose nucleic acid with Dr. D. P. Riley. In one correspondence on January 26, 1953, Oster shared calculations about the cable model of protein structures that was developed by Pauling.

Correspondence with Linus Pauling from Gerald Oster on January 26, 1953

Image 3: Correspondence with Linus Pauling from Gerald Oster on January 26, 1953 (Source: Oregon State University Libraries)

Oster’s communications with Pauling continued further on February 3, 1953. Oster wrote another correspondence to Pauling in which he defends his calculations and models developed with Dr. D. P. Riley. He discusses his plans to study spacing wool and crystallized insulin that was accidentally crystallized by one of his students. These research endeavors were directly connected to medical science as insulin is a crucial metabolic hormone (Rahman et al., 2021). He also further explains his work with Riley in experimentally determining the spacing within an unhydrated nucleic acid molecule.

Correspondence with Linus Pauling from Gerald Oster on February 3, 1953

Image 4: Correspondence with Linus Pauling from Gerald Oster on February 3, 1953 (Source: Oregon State University Libraries) [highlights added for emphasis]

Oster’s Research on Understanding the Eye and Visual Processing

Some of Oster’s work focused on understanding the structure of the eye and visual processing (Kennedy, 1993). His work published in November 1958, Models of the Visual Process, was one example of this endeavor (Oster, 1958). In this work, Gerald Oster explains possible approaches to understanding the visual process using concepts such as photochemistry and physical chemistry. Oster then raises questions related to the physical construct of the eye and the proteins involved. Oster considers the physical and chemical properties of rhodopsin, which is a photoreceptor protein of the eye, specifically located in the retina (Garriga & Manyosa, 2002). Oster also conducted photochemical analysis of eye structures and raised questions about how proteins may be interacting to give certain characteristics to visual processing.

Excerpt from Gerald Oster’s Models of the Visual Process

Image 5: Excerpt from Gerald Oster’s Models of the Visual Process (Oster, 1958) [highlights added for emphasis]

Overall, Oster’s work was diverse in that his background as a biophysicist had far reaching effects in understanding the fundamentals of protein structure as well as anatomical structures, such as the eye. Oster’s work provided insight into the photochemical basis of visual processes and protein structures.

References

Garriga, P., & Manyosa, J. (2002). The eye photoreceptor protein rhodopsin. Structural

implications for retinal disease. FEBS Letters, 528(1–3), 17–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0014-5793(02)03241-6

Kennedy, S. G. (1993, October 11). Dr. Gerald Oster, 75, Who Found Op Art In Eye

Experiments. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/11/obituaries/dr-gerald-oster-75-who-found-op-art-in-eye-experiments.html

National Library of Medicine. (2019, March 12). Two Nobel Prizes. Linus Pauling - Profiles

in Science. https://www.profiles.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/mm/feature/nobel

Oster, G. (1953 January 26). [Letter from Gerald Oster to Linus Pauling. January 26, 1953].

Linus Pauling and the Race for DNA. Special Collections & Archives Research Center, The Valley Library, Oregon State University. https://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/pauling/dna/corr/corr297.5-oster-lp-19530126-01.html

Oster, G. (1953 February 3). [Letter from Gerald Oster to Linus Pauling. February 3, 1953].

Oster, G. (1958). Models of the Visual Process. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences,

74(2), 305–309. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1958.tb39553.x

Oster, G., & McLaren, A. D. (1950). The Ultraviolet Light and Photosensitized Inactivation of

Tobacco Mosaic Virus. The Journal of General Physiology, 33(3), 215–228. https://doi.org/10.1085/jgp.33.3.215

Oster, Gerald, Date: Unknown; Poly Archives Portrait Collection; RG 028; Box: 6; folder: 101;

Poly Archives at Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology, New York University.

Rahman, M. S., Hossain, K. S., Das, S., Kundu, S., Adegoke, E. O., Rahman, M. A., Hannan, M.

A., Uddin, M. J., & Pang, M.-G. (2021). Role of Insulin in Health and Disease: An Update. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(12), 6403. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22126403

David Harker

Class Projects | Spring 2025

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