George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives
Special Collections & ArchivesFenwick Library (2FL)
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia 22030-4444
USA
Phone: (703) 993-2220
Fax: (703) 993-2669
Email: speccoll@gmu.edu
URL: http://www.gmu.edu/library/specialcollections
2006 By George Mason University Libraries. All rights reserved.
Finding aid prepared by Jordan Patty
Administrative Information
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions on personal use. Permission to publish material from the Colin F. McClare papers must be obtained from Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.
Access Restrictions
There are no access restrictions.
Preferred Citation
Colin F. McClare papers, C0116, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries.
Acquisition Information
Unknown.
Processing Information
Processed by Special Collections and Archives staff. EAD markup completed by Eron Ackerman and Jordan Patty in August 2009.
Biographical Information
Colin F. McClare was a biophysics professor who spent much of his academic career trying to devise a new theory to explain biochemical processes. As a student, he attended Felsted School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he studied chemistry. As a Medical Research Council student in 1958-1961, McClare conducted research on free radicals at Cambridge. As a Beit Fellow in 1961-1963, he researched energy transfer in nucleic acids. McClare was awarded a Ph.D. in 1962, after which he became a lecturer in Biophysics at King's College, London in 1963-1977. McClare's research in bioenergetics and the problems of muscle contraction led him to conclude that classical thermodynamics was inadequate to explain biological processes and that the application of the Second Law of Thermodynamics to biological machines required the introduction of time scales. His ideas were not generally accepted and, although he wrote extensively on the subject, his papers were denied publication until four controversial papers appeared in the Journal of Theoretical Biology and Nature, 1971-1972. The essays generated vigorous debates among scientists all over the world, but ultimately, McClare's unorthodox views failed to gain the approval of established scientific opinion.
Scope and Content
This collection contains revisions of a manuscript on biophysics as well as correspondence with George Mason University biology professor Harold Morowitz.
Arrangement
Organized by subject and date.
Related Material
Special Collections and Archives also holds the Harold Morowitz papers.
Index Terms
- McClare, Colin William Fraser, 1937-1977.
- Morowitz, Harold J.
- Biophysics.
Persons:
Subjects:
Significant Persons Associated With the Collection
- Colin William Fraser McClare, 1937-1977
- McClare, Colin William Fraser, 1937-1977.
- Morowitz, Harold J.
Contents List
- Box: 1
Folder: 1
Correspondence: McClare/Morowitz,1972, 1974, 1976
- Box: 1
Folder: 2
Correspondence: Morowitz/McClare, G./Lieb/Rosenberg,1977-1988
- Box: 1
Folder: 3
Revised McClare Manuscript Edited by Harold Morowitz and Shalid Khan,undated
- Box: 1
Folder: 4
Revised McClare Manuscript,undated
- Box: 1
Folder: 5
Manuscript of Book: Colin F. McClare, Preface to pg. 90, notes ,undated
- Box: 1
Folder: 6
Manuscript of Book: Colin F. McClare, pages 91-150, notes,undated
- Box: 1
Folder: 7
Manuscript of Book: Colin F. McClare, pages 151-193,undated
- Box: 1
Folder: 8
Manuscript of Book: Colin McClare, pages 194-250,undated
- Box: 1
Folder: 9
Manuscript of Book: Colin McClare, pages 251-325,undated
- Box: 1
Folder: 10
Manuscript of Book: Colin McClare, pages 326-369,undated
- Box: 2
Folder: 1
Manuscript of Book: Colin F. McClare, pages 370-421,undated
- Box: 2
Folder: 2
Manuscript of Book: Colin F. McClare, pages 422-526,undated
- Box: 2
Folder: 3
Manuscript of Book: Colin F. McClare, notes,undated
- Box: 2
Folder: 4
Chemical Machines, Maxwell's Demon and Living Organisms,undated
- Box: 2
Folder: 5
Manuscript,undated