dorothy crowfoot hodgkin maria j. haas. dorothy crowfoot hodgkin liked doing the impossible… used...
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Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin
Maria J. Haas
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin liked doing the impossible…Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin liked doing the impossible…
Used X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of:– Penicillin during WWII– Vitamin B12 (cure for anemia)– Insulin (lifeline for diabetes)
Even more important she…Even more important she…
Reinvented crystallography– From black art scientific tool
Established use of molecular structure to explain biological function
Worked to improve relations between East and West
Is the “Cleverest woman in England” Has been called “Gentle genius”
The Making of a “Gentle Genius”…The Making of a “Gentle Genius”…
Born in Egypt, 1910 Mother was self-
taught botanist Father was school
supervisor Family vacation
tragedy during WWI She was
unassuming but spoke up when important
Early Interests of a “Gentle Genius”…Early Interests of a “Gentle Genius”…
Chemistry, especially crystals
Crystals – atoms arranged in regular and repeated pattern
“A diamond is a girl’s best friend!”
Interested in World Peace:– League of Nations– Labour Party
Early Interests of a “Gentle Genius”…Early Interests of a “Gentle Genius”…
16th Birthday Party:– Received X-ray
crystallography book Accepted to Oxford
University in 1928 On vacation, studied
patterns of mosaic floors
“You’re finding what’s there and then trying to make sense of what you find.”
Synagogue mosaic floor in Jerusalem.
Questions of a “Gentle Genius”…Questions of a “Gentle Genius”…
Wondered if chemists were right
Wanted to “see” molecules for herself
Decided to specialize in new field of X-ray crystallography
X-Ray Crystallography: crystals scatter X-rays and spots reflect arrangement of atoms
X-Ray Diffraction Photograph
She liked to “think with her hands”…She liked to “think with her hands”…
Oxford graduation, 1932
X-ray studies at Cambridge– Good News:
complex proteins could be analyzed
– Bad News:
diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis
Drawing of Dorothy’s crippled hands by Henry Moore
Going beyond the limits…Going beyond the limits…
Took teaching job at Oxford.
Primitive lab in basement
Investigated sterols Went beyond “feasible
limits” Figured out something
organic chemists could not!
Victory Dance!
Structure of Cholesterol
Going beyond the limits…Going beyond the limits…
Developed unbeatable repertoire of skills
10,000 calculations by hand took months/years
Beevers and Lipson Strips – the early computer system
Beevers and Lipson Strips
Even geniuses fall in love…Even geniuses fall in love…
1937 married Thomas L. Hodgkin
“They really adored each other” – Max Perutz
He decided she was more creative
Three children:– Luke, Elizabeth,
Toby
“Dorothy, in love”
“Combining two careers and three children proved “reasonably easy”…
“Combining two careers and three children proved “reasonably easy”…
Thomas also taught at Oxford
He was the “stay at home Dad” type
Her arthritis improved w/each pregnancy
She made time for her kids
She could switch easily from deep calculations to kid talk!
“Men who change diapers change the world.”
Her project during WW II…Her project during WW II…
1940 Britain at war Penicillin – “high
security secret” Structure looked
hopeless Started from scratch
1942 1946 Mission
Accomplished Proved she was
“master crystallographer” Structure of Penicillin G
C16H17KN2O4S
Life after WW II got complicated…Life after WW II got complicated…
Commuter spouses Dorothy’s sister and
family moved in Always had guests:
– Third World leaders
– Scientists– Children’s friends
Christmas partiesDorothy with daughter
Lab after WW II got busier…Lab after WW II got busier…
Research group was multinational– Margaret Thatcher
Ran lab like parent:– “Mother cat”
Cluttered lab Hummed church hymns
Went out her of way to
help students
On to bigger and better things…On to bigger and better things…
Known in pharmaceutical industry
1948 she was given red Vitamin B12 crystals
93 non-hydrogen atoms (compared to 24)
Most crystallographers considered it unsolvable with current techniques
After 8 years, 2500 X-ray photographs, and the help of a computer, she discovered the structure.
Structure of Vitamin B12
C63H90CoN14O14P
Winning the Nobel Prize…Winning the Nobel Prize…
1964 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Did not share prize 5th Woman 1st British Woman Did not stop
research Next project: Insulin
(777 atoms)
“Late Night News from Dorothy…“Late Night News from Dorothy…
Computers now available
Structure is “so complicated and irregular”
1969 “…Insulin Is Solved
70,000 X-ray spots “Crisis in Organic
Chemistry” Atomic Structure of 6 insulin molecules
“Cleverest Woman in England”…“Cleverest Woman in England”…
1965 Queen Elizabeth gave her the Order of Merit
1960s and 70s worked for Peace organizations
Elected chancellor of Bristol University
Effect on Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev
The end of a beautiful life…The end of a beautiful life…
1977 retired to house near Oxford
Thomas died 1982 Traveled to scientific
and peace conferences Wheelchair bound from
arthritis and broken pelvis
Died at home July 29, 1994 at the age of 84
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, 1910-1994
The life of a “Gentle Genius”…The life of a “Gentle Genius”…
ReferencesReferences
“Chemical Achievers: Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin” The Chemical Heritage Foundation. 2000, http://www.chemheritage.org/EducationalServices/chemach/ppb/dch.html.
“Dr. Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin: Chemist, Crystallographer,Humanitarian”, March 2004,http://www.almaz.com/nobel/chemistry/dch.html.
McGrayne, Sharon Bertsch. Nobel Prize Women in Science, Citadel Press: 1993.
The Nobel Foundation. Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin: Biography, 2004, http://www.nobel.se/chemistry/laureates/1964/hodgkin-bio.html.