Martin Kamen

Although he gave up music as a career, Kamen continued to play the viola at a high professional level during the rest of his life.

In 1936, Kamen earned a PhD in physical chemistry from the same university after working with William D. Harkins on "Neutron-Proton Inter-action: The Scattering of Neutrons by Protons.

[10] Kamen gained a research position in chemistry and nuclear physics under Ernest Lawrence by working without pay for six months, until he was hired to oversee the preparation and distribution of the cyclotron's products.

[10][1] Kamen's major achievements during his time at Berkeley included the co-discovery of the synthesis of carbon-14 with Sam Ruben in 1940, and the confirmation that all of the oxygen released in photosynthesis comes from water, not carbon dioxide, in 1941.

[12] In spite of the fact that his scientific capabilities were unquestioned,[11] Kamen was fired from Berkeley in July 1944 on suspicion of being a security risk.

[13] Kamen was unable to obtain another academic position until 1945 when he was hired by Arthur Holly Compton to run the cyclotron program in the medical school of Washington University in St. Louis.

[15] In 1957, Kamen moved to Brandeis University in Massachusetts where he helped Nathan Oram Kaplan to establish the Graduate Department of Biochemistry.

[9] Although carbon-14 was previously known, the discovery of the synthesis of carbon-14 occurred at Berkeley in 1940 when Kamen and Sam Ruben bombarded graphite in the cyclotron in hopes of producing a radioactive isotope of carbon that could be used as a tracer in investigating chemical reactions in photosynthesis.

[12][5] After returning to Berkeley, Kamen met two Russian officials at a party given by his friend, the violinist Isaac Stern, whom he sometimes accompanied as a viola player in social evenings of chamber music.

FBI agents observed the dinner, on July 1, 1944, took a photograph of the men together, and submitted a report alleging Kamen to have discussed atomic research with Kheifets.

[13][5][20] In a memorandum of July 11, 1944, Army officials ordered Lawrence to have Martin Kamen dismissed from his Berkeley position and his work on the Manhattan Project on suspicion of being a “security risk.” There was no hearing or method of appeal.

This had significant negative effects on Kamen's career and research, preventing him from traveling abroad to give lectures, attend conferences, and take up visiting professorships.