Scope and Content Note
The papers of Maxine Singer (1931- ) span the years 1950-2007, with the bulk of the material dating from 1970 to 1995. The collection consists of correspondence, laboratory notebooks, subject files, research material, reports, speeches and writings, printed matter, and miscellaneous items documenting Singer's career as a biochemist specializing in the field of RNA and DNA research, as an advisor and spokesperson on science policy issues, and as president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The papers are primarily in English and include correspondence and clippings in French, Greek, Italian, and Japanese. The collection is organized into eight series: Correspondence, Laboratory Notebooks, Recombinant DNA File, Subject File, Conferences and Meetings, Miscellany, 2022 Addition, and Oversize.
The Correspondence series contains letters, memoranda, telegrams, cards, and enclosures that refer to Singer's research, public advocacy, and administrative appointments over a period of four decades. Singer began her career as a postdoctoral fellow studying nucleic acids in the laboratory of Leon A. Heppel at the National Institutes of Health. The correspondence highlights her contributions to research in biochemistry and molecular biology at the institute, including her experiments with enzymes, DNA transcription, and LINE-1 mammalian DNA sequences, as well as her research on simian virus 40 during a sabbatical from 1971 to 1972 at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. While at the National Institutes of Health, Singer became increasingly concerned with the scientist's role in society and the insight her discipline could bring to such public policy disputes as gender equality in hiring and promotion practices and the Vietnam War. The correspondence reflects her growing interest in social issues and her concern for the ethical use of biotechnologies and for the cause of scientific freedom at home and abroad. Although there is some overlap, the series is generally arranged chronologically from 1955 to 1988 and alphabetically from 1989 to 2002, the latter coinciding with Singer's term as president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, and contains notable correspondents including David Baltimore, Paul Berg, Carl Djerassi, Marianne Grunberg-Manago, Leon A. Heppel, Har Gobind Khorana, Hans L. Kornberg, and James Watson.
The evolution of Singer's research interests and activities, particularly during her early years as a scientist, is evident in the Laboratory Notebooks series. Volumes from her postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health contain the protocols, raw data, and conclusions from her experiments in RNA enzyme structure and function. The notes from the 1960s record her work with, among others, Marshall Nirenberg's team in deciphering the genetic code and her collaboration with Har Gobind Khorana. Later notebooks document Singer's work with viral RNA that began during her sabbatical at the Weizmann Institute of Science. The bulk of the notebooks detail her work under Heppel from 1957 to 1964.
In the 1970s, the scientific community examined methods of minimizing the potential environmental and evolutionary hazards involved in the newly emerging field of recombinant DNA research. Singer's participation in the discussion is well documented in the Recombinant DNA File. An index to the series precedes the material that is organized by the original numbers assigned to the ring binders from which the items were removed. Items not included in the binders are arranged chronologically as reference material. The files from 1973 to 1975 focus on the Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA Molecules that was co-organized by Singer. Conference participants reviewed the potential benefits and hazards of recombinant research and discussed the need to impose restrictions on the new technology. The series illustrates the growing public demand for stricter federal regulations and recounts the preparation and release of the National Institutes of Health's Guidelines on Recombinant DNA Research in 1976. The bulk of the material in this series dates from 1977 to 1980 when the research guidelines were revised and a federal recombinant DNA research bill was proposed and reworked. In response to these legislative initiatives, Singer, along with colleagues David Baltimore, Stanley N. Cohen, Donald S. Fredrickson, and Joshua Lederberg, appeared at several congressional hearings to present reports and provide expert testimony, copies of which can be found in this series.
The Subject File covers a broad range of topics reflecting Singer's roles in service to science and the community and largely corresponds to her administration as president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The series includes material collected by Singer concerning various biochemists, biologists, geneticists, government officials, molecular biologists, and other scientists and associates including Pushpa M. Bhargava, D. P. Burma, Joseph S. Fruton, Dean H. Hamer, Claude B. Klee, Jacek Skowronski, and Carl Wu. Singer served on the boards and committees of many corporate, scientific, and public service organizations, and a substantial volume of files is devoted to her work with these institutions and associations. In addition, extensive files document her close affiliation with the Carnegie Institution of Washington, National Institutes of Health, Weizmann Institute of Science, and Yale University. Additional material located throughout the series depicts Singer's interest in diverse topics such as the promotion of science education, creationism and the teaching of evolution, science-related legislation, and the publication of fraudulent scientific data.
The Conferences and Meetings series records Singer's participation in professional conferences, seminars, symposia, and other meetings as a prominent biochemist and scientific advisor. The majority of the files, particularly those from 2000 to 2002, contains information about travel and scheduling arrangements and includes items from these events such as summary reports, clippings, and statements. Additional information regarding Singer's participation at selected conferences and meetings can be found in the Recombinant DNA File and the Subject File.
Following her appointment as president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington in 1988, Singer became a frequent speaker and writer who was in high demand as an authority on topics such as genetics, the formulation of guidelines for recombinant DNA research, and women in science. The Miscellany series contains correspondence, notes, and drafts of Singer's speeches, lectures, and writings. Material concerning her collaborations with biochemist Paul Berg offers insight on the publication of their books on gene theory and the history of genetic research. The series also includes a few items of a more personal nature such as awards and certificates, photographs, and a diary account and mementos of trips and family vacations.
The 2022 Addition documents Singer's trip in 1986 to South Africa as part of a Yale Corporation delegation. Her handwritten diary of the trip was compiled and printed as Diary of the Yale Delegation's Trip to South Africa to Assess the Activities of Portfolio Companies under Apartheid, June-July 1986 in 2007. The addition includes both the handwritten and printed versions of the diary and other material that provides insight into Singer's opposition to the university divestment movement.