Biophysical Society Bulletin | April 2019

Obituary

Obituary

always by their side to provide what they needed. In other words, he seems to have practiced his insight and philosophy on the “roles of fluctuation” in teaching students, such that a moderate bias on random movements and individual’s in- tention can move them voluntarily towards a better direction (attractor). Oosawa received several prizes such as The Asahi Prize (1975), Medal with Purple Ribbon (1985), the Fujihara Award (1985), and the Nature Mentor Award for Lifetime Achieve- ment (2009). Perhaps most importantly, Oosawa instilled in us, his students, several practices and strategies guiding success as a scientist: 1) make use of knowledge, or “unin- tentional hints”, from other fields, 2) maintain a focused mind to make use of these hints, 3) concentrate on research topics that fascinate the listener (e.g., students and supporters), and first and foremost, 4) indulge in research and thought. The latter was an undeniable strength of Oosawa – though restricted to a wheelchair for almost a decade, and barely recovering from the sudden loss of his dearly beloved wife 16 years ago, his motivation for creation and deep thinking did not decline until his final days. We are deeply grateful to Oosawa, our mentor, teacher and friend, for all he has shared with us, and pray for his soul from the bottom of our hearts. Shin’ichi Ishiwata (Waseda University), Keiichi Namba and Toshio Yanagida (Osaka University)

Fumio Oosawa Dr. Fumio Oosawa , Professor Emeritus of Osaka University and Nagoya University, and a member of the Japan Academy, passed away on March 4, 2019. He was 96 years old. Oosawa made numerous fun- damental discoveries in physics and biophysics throughout his scientific career, including the “depletion force” and its theo- ry (1954), the theory of helical protein polymerization (1962), the extraction and purification of

Fumio Oosawa at the Nature Mentor Award Ceremony at the British Embassy Tokyo (from Nature, vol. 462/17, Dec. 2009)

actin from non-muscle cells (1966), the condensation theory of polyelectrolytes (1971), autonomous behavior of proto- zoans and bacteria (1972~), and loose coupling mechanism in protein motors (1986~). Important to his achievements in theoretical physics, was Oosawa’s dedication to mastering statistical mechanics, a feat he achieved by transcribing as a student the books by Willard Gibbs and Richard C Tolman. Oosawa graduated in 1944, from the University of Tokyo with a bachelor degree in theoretical physics with Dr. Masao Kotani . Though 22 years old at the time, Oosawa was immediately offered an assistant professor position in the Physics Depart- ment of Nagoya University by Geologist Dr. Naomi Miyabe , which he accepted. It was approximately one year before World War II would come to an end and research materials were absent. Oosawa’s first experiment was to put a muddy colloid in test tubes, leave them by the window, and ob- serve the process of reaching steady state. He identified the formation of a beautiful striped pattern (i.e., Liesegang rings). The patience and observation associated with this experi- ment revealed the spirit of “Terada physics” (named for Dr. Torahiko Terada , also a physicist, but more widely recognized for his famous essays in describing events and phenomena seen in daily life through a scientific eye) that was very much deep-rooted in Oosawa’s scientific approach. Oosawa is well known as a mentor who has nurtured many outstanding researchers. His group has been referred to as the “Oosawa ranch”, which was a stark contrast to the “butch- er shop” and “factory” used to describe other prominent Japanese muscle and cytoskeleton research labs at the time. He had his own way for grazing talented young people. He prepared necessary foods and gave us adequate advice and ideas as necessary. He let his trainees reign freely, but was

Letter Express Do you have a study with an important and significant result that you’d like to report in an accelerated manner? Submit a Letter to Biophysical Journal . The review and revision cycle for Letters is short, and accepted articles are posted online ahead of print. Letters are short articles limited to five pages. For more information see http:/www.cell. com and click on Author Guidelines or contact BJ@biophysics.org.

April 2019

19

T H E N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E B I O P H Y S I C A L S O C I E T Y