Jerome Karle

Jerome Karle
Name	Jerome Karle
Birth date	1918-06-17
Birth place	New York City, New York, United States
Death date	2013-06-06
Death place	Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Nationality	American
Fields	Physical chemistry, Crystallography
Alma mater	City College of New York; University of Michigan
Known for	Direct methods in X-ray crystallography; phase problem solutions
Awards	Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1985)

Jerome Karle Jerome Karle was an American physical chemist and crystallographer noted for his pioneering work on methods to determine crystal structures from X-ray diffraction data, particularly solutions to the phase problem that enabled determination of complex molecular structures. He shared the 1985 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for contributions that transformed structural determination in chemistry, biology, and materials science, influencing research at institutions such as Brookhaven National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Harvard University, University of Michigan, and Carnegie Mellon University.

Early life and education

Karle was born in New York City and raised in a milieu connected to immigrant communities and urban science education, attending City College of New York where he studied chemistry alongside contemporaries from institutions like Columbia University and New York University. He pursued graduate studies at the University of Michigan, earning advanced degrees in physical chemistry under faculty affiliated with programs that later intersected with research at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During his formative years he engaged with scientific figures and institutions including American Chemical Society meetings and had academic interactions connected to laboratories at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Bell Labs.

Scientific career and research contributions

Karle's scientific career centered on X-ray crystallography, engaging with techniques used at facilities such as the National Institutes of Health beamlines and synchrotrons associated with Argonne National Laboratory and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. He developed and refined direct methods and phase determination strategies that complemented work by contemporaries at Cambridge University and MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, impacting structural studies of proteins related to discoveries by researchers at Howard Hughes Medical Institute-funded labs and pharmaceutical groups including Merck and Pfizer. His methodological advances interfaced with mathematical approaches from collaborators in fields tied to Princeton University and University of Chicago, and these techniques became standard in structural determination pipelines used at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and European Molecular Biology Laboratory.

Manhattan Project and World War II work

During World War II Karle contributed to wartime scientific efforts linked to the Manhattan Project and associated laboratories, collaborating with scientists who also worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Brookhaven National Laboratory. His wartime work intersected with projects coordinated by organizations such as the Office of Scientific Research and Development and involved technical challenges shared with contemporaries at University of California, Berkeley and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These experiences connected him to networks of researchers including those from Harvard University and Princeton University who later shaped postwar American research infrastructure.

Nobel Prize and recognition

Karle was awarded the 1985 Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly with a frequent collaborator for resolving crucial aspects of the phase problem in X-ray crystallography, an honor shared among laureates associated with institutions like Columbia University, Stanford University, Yale University, and University of Cambridge. The Nobel recognition highlighted impacts on structural biology that aided advances by laboratories at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Scripps Research, and Max Planck Society institutes. His award followed other honors typical of eminent scientists, comparable to recognitions given by the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and societies such as the Royal Society and International Union of Crystallography.

Later career, mentorship, and administration

In his later career Karle held positions and collaborations that connected him to academic and national laboratories including University of Michigan, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and industry partnerships with companies like DuPont and General Electric. He mentored students and postdoctoral researchers who subsequently held appointments at institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, University of California, San Francisco, University of Oxford, and ETH Zurich. Karle participated in advisory roles for agencies and centers like the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and research councils within the Department of Energy, influencing policy and infrastructure decisions relevant to crystallography and structural science.

Personal life and honors

Karle's personal life included partnerships and family connections with individuals involved in science and medicine; his social and professional circles overlapped with scholars from University of Michigan, Harvard Medical School, and research hospitals like Massachusetts General Hospital. He received honorary degrees and fellowships from universities including City College of New York, University of Michigan, and international institutions such as University of Cambridge and University of Oxford. His legacy is reflected in awards and commemorations from bodies like the American Chemical Society, International Union of Crystallography, and national academies in the United States and abroad.

Category:1918 births Category:2013 deaths Category:American chemists Category:Nobel laureates in Chemistry