Year-round research at the Bio Lab ceased during World War II. However, the Chemical Warfare Service of the War Department contracted with the Bio Lab to continue Dr. Abramson’s experiments with aerosol sprays, which led to the development of the Aerolizer, used for decontamination and for administering antibiotics. The experiment headquarters were in Nichols, and a total of $32,800 was appropriated for this effort.

Post World War II, Doctors Albert Kelner and Vernon Bryson had laboratories in Nichols. In 1948, Dr. Watson utilized Nichols during the summer to do experiments with Salvador Luria. Dr. Waclaw Szybalski had his lab in Nichols when he joined CSHL in 1951. In his Nichols lab, he invented the “gradient plate technique,” which is still in use today. This photo shows Dr. Szybalski and Jill Hershey (wife of Dr. Alfred Hershey, center) in front of Nichols. Listen to a conversation with Dr. Szybalski here.