BioSystems 64 (2002) 5–11 The origins of Michael Conrad’s research programs (1964 – 1979) H.H. Pattee * Systems Science and Industrial Engineering Department, T.J. Watson School of Engineering, State Uniersity of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902 -6000, USA Received 21 May 2001; accepted 12 June 2001 Abstract This paper summarizes Michael Conrad’s academic and professional career from the time he began his Ph.D. studies in 1964 to his appointment at Wayne State University in 1979. It describes the origins of several of his major research interests and presents a personal evaluation of how this early work continues to be of fundamental importance. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Artificial ecosystems; Adaptability; Evolvability; Non-programmable computation; Brain-computer disanalogy; Enzy- matic neurons www.elsevier.com/locate/biosystems 1. First meeting and first research Michael Conrad started his Ph.D. studies in the Biophysics Program at Stanford University in 1964. After his A.B. degree from Harvard with a major in biology, he entered Stanford Medical School, but after 1 year the Dean discouraged him from continuing even though his grades were satisfactory. One of my colleagues in the Medical School recognized Michael’s intellectual potential and recommended that he pursue a Ph.D. in my biophysics group. It was my impression that he had been asking too many profound questions in his classes, and this was not considered appropri- ate, especially for a first-year medical student. I soon found that Michael’s interests were somewhat more ambitious than being a doctor. His deepest motivation was no less than under- standing the nature of life and mind. Since these problems are not usually regarded as an accept- able dissertation topic, I advised him that he should first complete the physics courses required for a physics major in order to pursue a Ph.D. in Biophysics. This did not discourage him. At that meeting I remember he was more interested in the sealed glass jars lined up in the lab’s windows. My own work at the time included origin of life experiments, and the jars contained the products of abiogenic syntheses that I was letting ‘evolve’ in the sunlight. It turned out that Michael had already been thinking about the problem of the minimum conditions for a closed ecosystem and had filled many jars with a variety of organisms * Fax: +1-607-777-4094. E-mail address: pattee@binghamton.edu (H.H. Pattee). 0303-2647/02/$ - see front matter © 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. PII:S0303-2647(01)00169-1