In Memory of Winslow Briggs, a luminary who shed light on plants and enlightened people
We are deeply saddened that our beloved and respected friend and colleague Professor and Director Emeritus Winslow Briggs passed away peacefully on February 11, 2019, at the age of 90. Winslow Briggs was a giant in the field of plant biology, an inspiring mentor, and a treasured colleague. He was also a beloved husband, father, and friend. We shall miss him dearly.
Winslow was born on April 29, 1928, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He started his professional careers as a faculty member at Stanford University’s Biology Department in1955. In 1967, he returned to his alma mater, Harvard University, as Professor of Biology. In 1973, he became the Director of the Department of Plant Biology at the Carnegie Institution for Science. He retired from that position in 1993. Subsequently, he continued to conduct ground-breaking research at Carnegie, including the discovery of the phototropin receptors, and remained active in research and extremely influential in science until the very last day of his life.
As a young researcher, Winslow set out on a quest to understand how light changes plant growth and development. In the early decades of his career, Winslow’s research explored broad aspects of photomorphogenesis, including the red and far-red light photoreceptor, phytochrome; the roles of phytohormones in light-dependent development; and the mechanisms of phototropism. Among many seminal findings, his experiments confirmed that phototropic stem bending involves the transport of auxin from the lighted side of a stem to the shaded side. Many of the research programs initiated in his lab were continued later by his students and postdocs in their own labs, but phototropism remained a focus of his own work.
Although he searched arduously for the blue light receptor that mediates phototropic responses, he only found success after his retirement. Following years of biochemical pursuit, his group adopted a genetic approach and isolated the Arabidopsis nonphototropic hypocotyl 1 (nph1) mutant. This mutant led to the cloning of the gene for phototropin, the blue light receptor that mediates phototropism. This breakthrough was followed by studies that unraveled the biochemical mechanisms of blue light perception by LOV-domain-containing photoreceptors and uncovered phototropin functions in a wide range of plant light responses, including stomatal opening and chloroplast relocation. Along with colleagues, he made the surprising discovery that similar receptors are also found outside the plant kingdom, some of which are implicated in the light-dependent virulence of bacterial pathogens such as Brucella that cause infectious diseases in animals. At the age of 90, he discovered that light, acting through the LOV-domain proteins in Rhizobium, has a major effect on the symbiotic relationship between the nitrogen-fixing bacterium and legume plants. When he died, he was in the middle of conducting field tests and very excited about the potential impact this discovery could have in agriculture.
Over the course of his long career, he made many seminal contributions to our understanding of the physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms underlying plant growth and responses to the environment. He was one of the most-admired plant scientists of modern times, known for his fearlessness, stamina, and love of a well-designed experiment. He re-invented himself several times during his long career, from physiologist, to biochemist, to geneticist, to molecular biologist, while he remained at the cutting edge until the end of his life. And, through it all, he was always respectful and generous to his colleagues.
As director, Winslow transformed Carnegie’s Department of Plant Biology by doubling its research facilities, hiring several faculty members with new areas of expertise, and welcoming numerous graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from all over the world to conduct their research at Carnegie. Photosynthesis and ecophysiology were longstanding areas of excellence at Carnegie, which he continued to foster. In addition, he built bridges between the two by emphasizing a third branch of research, plant development. His vision for plant biology research at Carnegie was well articulated in his inaugural comments in the 1973 Carnegie Year Book: “Adaptation to a stressful environment … can only be understood through a study of mechanisms throughout the life history of a plant. ... Physiological adaptations to stress have an evolutionary history. Photosynthetic mechanisms have an evolutionary history. Developmental patterns have an evolutionary history. An understanding of this history and the mechanisms underlying it is yet another parameter one must include for a reasonable comprehension of the ways in which plants grow, adapt, and photosynthesize.” His vision continues to guide the department’s scientific endeavors to this day.
Winslow inspired multiple generations of scientists as a mentor, a role model, and an enthusiastic proponent of biological research. He initiated a fellowship that enabled Stanford graduate students to conduct research at Carnegie. He was an extremely generous and open director, welcoming scientists and students from all over the world to visit and train at Carnegie, helping them to develop their own research careers. In addition to advising Ph.D. students in his lab, Winslow served on thesis committees for many others and always treated graduate students with respect. His optimistic approach was both inspiring and practical for many.
Winslow was a leading figure in the plant science community and served it in many important ways. He was the President of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) in 1975-1976 and President of the American Institute of Biological Sciences in 1981. He was an active member of the Board of Directors of Annual Reviews, an editor of Annual Reviews of Plant Biology for more than four decades, and a founding Honorary Editor-in-Chief of Molecular Plant. Winslow’s scientific contributions were widely recognized. He was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina, and the California Academy of Sciences. He won many awards for his scholarship and service including the Alexander von Humboldt U.S. Senior Scientist Award, the ASPB Stephen Hales Prize, the Sterling Hendricks Medal from the United States Department of Agriculture and the American Chemical Society, the Adolph E. Gude, Jr. Award from ASPB for his “outstanding service to the plant science community,” and the International Prize for Biology from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for his “outstanding contributions to the advancement of basic research.”
Winslow was also an exceptional naturalist and keen observer of natural phenomena. He and his wife, Ann, volunteered for nearly 40 years at the Henry W. Coe State Park, about which he published a book of trails. His license plate read “HIKE COE.” Winslow and Ann also served on the board of the Pine Ridge Association and, in 1999, won the Dewitt award for “partnership” from the State of California. In 2013, Winslow was awarded the Philanthropist of the Year by the California State Assembly for his work in helping to save Coe Park from imminent closure. When fire ravaged the park in 2007, Winslow saw an opportunity to study how plant seeds germinate after vegetation has been destroyed. In order to fully document the phenomenon, he enlisted volunteers to map vegetation regrowth (https://coefire.com). He “cooked” closed Bishop pine cones in the oven to demonstrate that they pop open after high heat to release their seeds. This new research avenue, which Winslow initiated at age 80, ultimately led to the discovery that the slow release of cyanide from glyceryl nitrile in the smoke from a wildfire may play a role in accelerating post-fire sprouting and flowering of plants that usually remain dormant.
Winslow was a renaissance man with many talents. In his youth, he was an avid mountaineer who climbed some of the world’s highest peaks, including Denali. He was an accomplished musician and trained as a concert pianist at Harvard at the same time as he pursued his biology degree. He was also an expert at Chinese cooking, including his specialty of Peking Duck. He always made time to host his lab members and colleagues at his home, serving us excellent homemade meals and treating us to piano recitals. Winslow shared his favorite dishes such as sesame noodles and sweet-sour cabbage at the department’s Lunar New Year parties, including the one that occurred just a week before his death. Winslow also took beautiful landscape photographs and held several art exhibits in the lobby of the department’s building on the Stanford Campus. Some of his recent photos from the Anza-Borrego Desert are part of the building’s permanent art display. Winslow was a consummate scientist who was passionate about many other aspects of life including family, treks in the mountains, music, food, and art.
Winslow was a model citizen in the communities to which he belonged. He attended and presented posters at the ASPB meeting every year from 1953 through 2018. For decades, he spent his weekends volunteering at the Henry W. Coe State Park. He remained an active member of the department until the end of his life, attending faculty meetings and meeting with seminar speakers just a few days before his death. During the last hours of his life, Winslow checked his bean plants in the greenhouse, emailed a manuscript to his lab members, and responded to an email that requested a volunteer to meet with a local science reporter.
It has been a privilege for us to have our lives enriched by Winslow. While his passing is devastating for all of us, we take comfort in the knowledge that Winslow lived a full life—doing what he loved until the very end—and that his philosophy and spirit will continue to inspire us and live on through us.
Interviews and seminars by Winslow Briggs
Interview with Winslow by Foster Art Gallery (2018):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWgPLLyaX-Y
Interview with Winslow by People Behind the Science (2016):
http://www.peoplebehindthescience.com/dr-winslow-briggs/
Interviews with Winslow by Annual Reviews (2011):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T55JqEBSaq8
Retrospective seminar by Winslow (2010):
Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU9fd6dLX74
Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKeDv8_D9rU
Part 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hgMN0M2VaU
Part 4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXOhxygbCS4
Part 5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUE39sZi5F8
Friends and Colleagues of Winslow Briggs
For correspondence: zwang@carnegiescience.edu or srhee@carnegiescience.edu
There are 9 Comments
Forever Role Model
I cannot find words that can describe my sadness, keep thinking about all the good things that I still need to learn from him…
Goodbye, Winslow and Thank You
Dear Winslow,
Thank you so much for making me feel so welcome here at Carnegie. It was my privilege to have an office next to yours. I will miss you saying "Good morning, Clare!" each day, and unfailingly saying "Have a good afternoon, Clare!" as you departed. When I asked you last fall if you would have time to sit with me for a short while and share your thoughts about Carnegie and the department...the short visit turned in to 3 more short visits, and it would have continued long past, as you always, always, made time for me. I would knock on your door and say "Hey, can I borrow your hole punch?" and you would laugh and say "Of course! Help yourself!" When I asked you why you still came to work every day instead of doing something else, your eyes began to sparkle as you talked about your love for your research, your students, and how exciting the entire field of plant biology is. I could feel how much you loved plants, though I knew you loved people even more. You had a kind word for everyone. Your door was always open. I did not know you very long, but you have deeply touched me, and I will miss you greatly.
With love and affection,
Clare
The Passing of Winslow Briggs
I met Winslow when he was director of the Carnegie Department of Plant Biology. I worked with Bill Thompson on molecular aspects of plant evolution. One day, while puzzling over melting curves of pea DNA, Winslow suggested talking with Stacy French. Stacy had developed a digital curve tracer device many years before and showed me how to use it. Later, Winslow et al. co-authored a PNAS paper and he and I labored over the writing. I'll never forget his enthusiasm, wisdom and skill in helping this young gradute student.
It is with sadness and many memories that I hear this news.
Being sad is not enough
Being sad is not enough to memorize Winslow. I wish I had another chace to go into his office and tell him my research progresses, and then he would proudly show me his new field experiment results. He is dearly missed everyday.
My eulogy for Winslow at his memorial service
Good afternoon everyone. I am Zhiyong Wang, the acting director of Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science. I am also Winslow’s academic grandson. You can find my name on the family tree at the entrance. What a thrill to work with my grandfather. However, I never felt that I was treated like a grandson. He treated everyone equally.
I would like to give my sincere condolences to Winslow’s family, and also thank them for giving me this opportunity to express my respect and gratitude to Winslow.
Winslow was one of the most respected plant biologists of modern time. In the last two weeks, numerous messages and articles about Winslow were posted on the internet, and many sent to me by emails. Reading these messages and emails made me think again and again how lucky we are at Carnegie to have had the opportunity to work alongside Winslow, a true giant in our field and a perfect role model at every level.
The faculty of our department, together with several other colleagues, also wrote a tribute to Winslow and published it in Molecular Plant, a journal that Winslow helped to get started. Now it’s one of the top journals in our field. Many of you have a copy of the paper in your hand. I hope you enjoy reading it.
But Winslow’s career and life are much richer than we can describe in a paper.
So, I have been thinking more about Winslow, and trying to come closer to an accurate appreciation of how much Winslow really means to all of us, and to the world.
I like the title of our paper: In memory of Winslow Briggs, a luminary who shed light on plants and enlightened people. That’s a plain and simple statement of a spectacular life. Indeed, Winslow illustrated scientifically how a plant maximizes its growth by seeking light. More importantly, he also demonstrated personally how a human being can maximize his or her value by serving others.
Winslow was not only a productive researcher, but also an extremely fruitful mentor and teacher. As you can see from the partial family tree displayed in the back, Winslow trained over a hundred students, postdocs and visiting scientists. His contributions to science go way beyond the 300-plus papers he authored. He is a giant on whose shoulders many scientists stand.
What is invisible on the family tree, but more valuable, is the family culture that Winslow cultivated. A culture of respect, encouragement, and giving.
In fact, what makes Winslow distinct from other great scientists is that he was always gracious to everyone, and always gave enthusiastic guidance to young scientists, from high school interns to assistant professors.
My former graduate student Josh Gendron said in his email me: Winslow was one of the special people that could positively influence anyone he met. Ruben Relen, a former postdoc of Jose’s lab said in his email: Winslow had genuine curiosity for all the science in the department. More than once I went to show him my own results and he was always enthusiastic about new data and gave useful advice, including the last time that I went back to visit.
Winslow’s discoveries and contributions will be remembered by the scientific world; but for those of us at Carnegie, what we will miss the most are his love of science and his generous giving heart.
Winslow loved many people and many things. Based on the amount of time he spent with, I can say that his top two lovers are his wife Ann and science.
He was excited about his research till the very end of his life. It’s legendary that his most important discovery was made after his retirement, and his discovery that has the largest potential impact on agriculture was made near the end of his record long career.
Just this morning, Rajnish forwarded me an email saying that their business plan has passed the first round of selection at the Stanford Incubator, StartX. Winslow’s discovery of light effect on nitrogen fixation is on its way to commercialization.
As I have heard from several of our postdocs who saw Winslow working in the greenhouse over the weekends and holidays, Winslow’s love of science is truly inspiring.
Of course, we all know what a wonder husband and father Winslow was. In recent years,Winslow became a care giver, as Ann became more dependent on him. He was often torn between his two lovers, though he was able to come to work every day. I remember one day I was walking into the Turin auditorium for a Global Ecology seminar, and Winslow was walking out with a concerned look on his face and cell phone in his hand. I asked him is everything ok. He said Ann was not answering his phone call, and he needed to go home to check if Ann was ok, and he was sorry that he had to miss the seminar.
Winslow actually cared for everyone around him. A week before his passing, we had a lunar new year lunch party in the department. Winslow changed his doctor’s appointment in order to prepare his favorite sesame noodles and sweet-sour cabbage at the party.
Winslow also cared very much about the department and the institution. He was one of the most consistent attendees of faculty meetings. On Monday Feb 11, I was having a meeting with a few team members in my office, and Winslow showed up at the door, and asked: Don’t we have a faculty meeting today? I said: I don’t think so; we just had one last Friday. He said, oh well I don’t want to bother you anymore, and went back to his office. About half an hour later, I heard the call that Winslow had an emergency in his office. ---Those hours waiting at the hospital was the most agonizing time of my life.
Later, when I visited his family, I learned that before coming to my office Winslow was actually on the phone with his daughter Caroline, and he told her that he had to hang up because it’s time for him to go to the faculty meeting. I cannot help but think, if he had not mistakenly thought about the faculty meeting, he would have stayed on the phone with Caroline a little longer, and he could be still checking his plants in the greenhouse right now.
Well, life has no if. Many of us were shocked to realize that Winslow was not immortal. But none of us has any doubt that his spirit will be. For our institution, Winslow’s spirit and legacy is a huge asset that we will do our best to carry on.
To conclude, I would like to quote my academic cousin Kevin Folta, who wrote recently in his tribute to Winslow: “He leaves us with a tremendous gap to fill. Maybe the best lasting tribute to Winslow is a commitment for all of us to increase our efforts in serving others. Most of all, do plant biology with a warm smile and endless grace, just like Dr, Briggs would do.” Thank you.
Trip to ASPB2018 with Winslow
For the last 66 years, Winslow went to the ASPB conference every year, presenting a poster each time for recent years. Last year he wasn’t sure if he could travel to the ASPB in Toronto. I told him if he decided to go I would go with him. So, for the first time we flew together. Luckily, we were both bumped up to business class, as the Canadian Airline flight was full. Winslow said: "Thank you. This is nice (referring to the B-class service). I should always try to fly with you in the future" I said:"Thank youu. I will try to fly with you. I am not even a member of this airline. This upgrade must be based on your academic status". I presented a poster at ASPB2018, like Winslow did. That was a memorable experience. (a paragraph that I decided not to include in my eulogy at the memorial).
My memories of Winslow
With great sadness I learned about Winslow's passing. In addition to feeling very sad, I remembered with deep gratitude the days he spent with us in Cordoba, Argentina, in 2014, during the Congress of the International Congress on Photobiology. He offered us a wonderful talk about his long and rich life with research and also about hiking and wondering in Nature. The participants of the Congress were once again fascinated by his talk.
I had met Winslow during several research meetings and also visited him at Stanford in 2008. I have great memories of the talks we had about phytochromes and in general, about photosensors in plants. Many years ago, I believe it was in a meeting in Israel in 1977, he described the response to light of little blue flowers on the woods floor. It was a fascinating talk, full of wonderful pictures of the flowers he had taken during his hiking trips. His commitment with science and nature and his enthusiasm convinced me of remaining working on photosensors.
It was a great privilege having met Winslow.
Silvia Braslavsky
Winslow Briggs
I had been in touch with Winslow last year and am deeply saddened by his passing. He made so many great things happen in his career, and I will always remember his infectious enthusiasm and intelligence, and the time he took to work through the science of our projects as post docs. I remember well his questions on kinases were insightful and encouraging at the same time. A rare gift. Winslow will be sorely missed.
Working for Winslow
I was a lab assistant for the Mole People, the researchers working down in the basement [under dim green light all day] in the CIW-Plant Biology building in the late '70s . Winslow was always courteous to me, joking and friendly. When he told me that if I wanted to pursue a doctorate at Stanford in Plant Biology he'd help me apply and take me on as a graduate student, I was very touched. I remember one pig roast where he took the head off the cooked piggy, stuck it on the front of his bicycle, and road off for a tour around the campus. He was a nice man who loved a good joke. Seeing him at the Plant Biology reunion in 2014 was very heartening.
