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PALO ALTO, Calif. - One of the world's foremost research institutes will soon become part of Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore.

Officials of the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine (LPISM) in Palo Alto, Calif., said today they are recommending that the famed research center move to OSU in 1996.

The recommendation is subject to final approval by the Oregon State Board of Higher Education, which will consider the action later this month.

"We are convinced of the importance of the work that LPISM is doing and the imperative need to continue into the future," said Dr. Linus Pauling Jr., chairman of the board of the institute. "My father participated in discussions on this subject prior to his death. He approved of the concept of association with OSU, and I am sure that he would be delighted that this move is now taking place.

"I see the new Linus Pauling Institute as a powerful living and working memorial to a great American, scientist and humanitarian," he added.

The proposal would not have happened without the "extraordinary dedication and vision of John Byrne, the former president of OSU, and Dr. Linus Pauling Jr.," said OSU President Paul Risser.

"Together, their belief in the quality of exceptional science - and in the legacy of Linus Pauling - have fashioned a dream for a higher level of research excellence and contribution," Risser said. "We're honored to know that Oregon State will help to fulfill that dream."

The announcement comes as "extraordinary news for Oregon State and the State of Oregon," "We believe having the Pauling Institute at OSU will help to focus international attention to the quality of the research in the Pacific Northwest. We are also confident it will stimulate new opportunity for scholarly exchange and the creation of new knowledge at Oregon State. said Byrne, OSU president emeritus.

"With all Oregonians, we have long shared admiration for the lifelong work of Dr. Linus Pauling and have felt great pride in him as an alumnus of this institution. To have the scientific institute which bears his name became a part of our campus is the fulfillment of a dream for Oregon State and all Oregonians."

"We are truly pleased that the research and educational mission of the Linus Pauling Institute will be enhanced by our re-establishment as part of OSU. This association will provide the institute with excellent opportunities for continuing and initiating exciting and critical research," said Stephen Lawson, LPISM's chief executive officer.

Pauling, a 1922 graduate of Oregon Agricultural College (now OSU), died Aug. 19, 1994. He remains the only person ever to hold two unshared Nobel Prize awards. He received his first Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1954 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1963.

Acclaimed as one of the greatest scientists in history, Pauling founded the institute as a non-profit research organization in 1973. The institute is renowned for its scientific work in the fields of nutrition and human health. Support for its work comes from private gifts, grants and contracts.

The institute has made notable contributions in the fields of aging, virology, physiology, nutrition, immunology, heart disease, genetics and cancer. Molecular studies of cancer have resulted in the discovery of proteins and genes whose regulation is associated with carcinogenesis and metastasis, as well as the development of novel techniques for their analysis.

Intensive, experimental research on micronutrients has yielded much new information about their important influence on health and disease. For more than two decades, the institute has served as the scientific home of Pauling, who carried out work in theoretical physics and chemistry in addition to his renowned work in the preventative and therapeutic roles of micronutrients, especially vitamin C.

Under its agreement with OSU, the institute will move from California and become a part of the university if final approval is granted by the Oregon State Board of Higher Education at its Jan. 19 meeting. LPISM initially will be housed in Weniger Hall, where research and office space is available.

Endowment will help to support an endowed chair at the university, and OSU will select a world-class scientific director to head the institute's program. Eventually, officials hope to provide a new building for the institute with private funds.