Synopsis - Chlorophyll Biosynthesis and Technological Applications - page 37

Fig. 2.5 Carole and Tino
announcing their
engagement at Elliott's
Weir Garden Party in the
spring of 1962. From Left
to right : Elliott Weir, Tino
Rebeiz, and Carole Conness

research acumen. By that time I had accepted a postdoctoral position at the French
CNRS in Paris with Jules Bove'. Bove' had previously spent a sabbatical in Paul
Stumph laboratory. By that time Carole and I had a 1 year old son, Paul. Carole, Paul
and I headed to Paris France, on the Christophoro-Colombo, a transatlantic cruise
ship. On the way, we discovered that Carole was pregnant with our second child and
that the Postdoctoral stipend at the French CNRS was so meager that there was no
way that a family of four could survive on it in Paris. So we decided to continue to
Lebanon, my native country, via a Mediterranean cruise ship, the Lusitania, and try
our luck in Lebanon with the optimism of a 28 year-old new Ph.D. and a beautiful
25 years-old wife.

2.5 Joining the Lebanese National Research

Institute at Tal El-Amara

In Lebanon, my dad immediately handed me the keys to a beautiful fourth floor
roof-garden flat which was supposed to be our home in Beirut as long as we stayed
in Lebanon. Once in Beirut, Carole and I started thinking about our future. It soon
became apparent that my interests were in continuing my research career rather
than following in the Family business traditions.
At that time Lebanon being an underdeveloped country, had poorly-established
research traditions. The only extensive research in the area was being carried out in
neighboring Israel and to a much lesser extent at the American University of Beirut.
It was very fortunate however that about that time the Lebanese administration was
developing an interest in new research initiatives. Thus, because of family
connections, and the Lebanese way of doing things, I was offered the job of head
of the Department of Soil Sciences at the Lebanese National Research Institute
which at that time was teaming with French LORSTOM, soil scientists. It was
agreed that once I got the soil and leaf analyses routines going, I would devote
my attention to the development of a research-oriented Department of Biological