Vivian Moses

1928 - 2018

Vivian Moses
May 17, 1928 - December 27, 2017
Kensington, CA 94708 (1960 to 1971)
The finest quality in man is that he should be an inquirer.
(Solomon Ibn Gabirol: Choice of Pearls, Wisdom I, 44)
He was Professor of Microbiology at London's Queen Mary College for 22 years, during which time he became deeply involved with the rapidly developing field of biotechnology. He jointly edited a major textbook Biotechnology – The Science and the Business (Harwood Academic Publishers, 1991), which ran to two editions, and co-authored some 190 original research papers, reviews, articles and books.
Born in the East End of London to Polish and Russian immigrants Shloime and Bessie (née Brodetsky), Vivian went to Dame Alice Owen's School for Boys in Islington, north London and was evacuated during the Second World War to Bedford.
In his teenage years he was keen on chemistry but since this caused a bit of a mess at home, he turned to biology, bringing home frogs and earthworms for dissection (which, as his sister often fondly recalls, similarly wreaked havoc in the kitchen!) He went up to Peterhouse, Cambridge in 1946 and graduated with his BA in Biochemistry, completing a PhD at University College London in Microbiology in 1953.
For three years Vivian remained at UCL as a junior lecturer and then secured a post-doctoral appointment with Melvin Calvin at the University of California in Berkeley, joining his group on photosynthesis research (for which Calvin was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1961). In 1955 he had married Sheila Shine, and they had a son, Kevin, and a daughter, Susan.
He briefly returned to the UK in 1958 to take up another post-doctoral appointment at King's College Medical School, London and then in 1960 Calvin invited him to return to Berkeley as a research director. He returned to Britain in 1971 permanently, co-founding the Archaeus Technology Group Ltd, a small biotechnology start-up company exploring the use of microbiology for improving the recovery of crude oil from reservoirs.
In 1991 he co-authored with his wife, Sheila, Biotechnology in Industry, Healthcare and the Environment (Economist Intelligence Unit, 1991). He co-founded in 1996 the Centre for Genetic Anthropology at University College London. Between 1997 and 2008 he conceived and co-ordinated three major European Union projects on biotechnology and its relationship with the general public. From 1999 he chaired CropGen, a consumer and media information initiative, boosting public understanding of biotechnology in agriculture and food.
All who worked with or knew Vivian were always struck by his larger-than-life presence. People praised his rare gift of explaining complicated issues in simple language. His wide interests ranged from classical music (particularly Wagner and Havergal Brian) to studying Yiddish and Russian — and the history of trams.
He is survived by his wife Sheila, his son Kevin, daughter Susan and sister Naomi.
The family is planning a memorial service in the UK.
Professor Vivian Moses MA (Cantab), PhD (London), DSc (London):
born London 17 May 1928 – died London 27 December 2017.


View the online memorial for Vivian Moses