Isabella Karle | |
|---|---|
 Karle at her retirement in 2009 | |
| Born | Isabella Helen Lugoski (1921-12-02)December 2, 1921 |
| Died | October 3, 2017(2017-10-03) (aged 95) Alexandria,Virginia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Columbia Gardens Cemetery Arlington, Virginia, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan, BS, MS, PhD |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award (1968) Garvan–Olin Medal(1976) Gregori Aminoff Prize(1988) Bower Award(1993) National Medal of Science(1995) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Crystallography |
| Doctoral advisor | Lawrence O. Brockway |
Isabella Helen Karle (née Lugoski; December 2, 1921 – October 3, 2017) was an American chemist who revolutionizedcrystallography laying the foundation for three-dimensional structures ofmolecules which facilitates the study of the biological, chemical, metallurgical, and physical characteristics of the molecules. This information provides the ability to synthesize those molecules. Her method improved the speed and accuracy of chemical and biomedical analysis and enabled the development of new pharmaceutical products and other synthesized materials.[1] For her scientific work, Karle received theSociety of Women Engineers' Achievement Award, theGarvan–Olin Medal,Gregori Aminoff Prize,Bower Award,National Medal of Science, and theNavy Distinguished Civilian Service Award (which is the Navy's highest form of recognition to civilian employees).
Isabella Helen Lugoski was born inDetroit, Michigan, on December 2, 1921, the daughter of immigrants fromPoland.[2] Her father, Zygmunt Lugoski, worked for the city's transportation system. Her mother, the former Elizabeth Graczyk, was a self-educated woman who supported her family as a seamstress of automobile upholstery and later by running a restaurant–eventually with Isabella's help,[3] who became the restaurant's accountant after discovering a love for numbers.[4] She attended the local public schools and skipped two grades in elementary school,[4] despite not speaking English until the first grade.[3] While at school, a female chemistry teacher led her to her pursuit of the field as a career.[5] She also drew inspiration from a biography ofMarie Curie.[2] She attended Wayne University (nowWayne State University) in Detroit for a semester before obtaining a four-year scholarship to theUniversity of Michigan, where she majored inphysical chemistry and received aBachelor of Science at age 19, followed byMaster of Science andPh.D. degrees in the field. During her graduate work she met her future husband and scientific collaborator,Jerome Karle, in a physical-chemistry lab where alphabetical seating dictated that the two of them would sit next to each other; the two were both advised in their Ph.D. studies byLawrence Brockway.[6][7]: 89 The pair married in June 1942 after Isabella completed her M.S. degree.[8]
Karle worked on theManhattan Project duringWorld War II, where she developed techniques to extractplutonium chloride from a mixture containingplutonium oxide.[9] After the war, she worked at the University of Michigan where she was the first female member of the chemistry faculty.[1]
She then joined theUnited States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). At the NRL, her husband Jerome developed "direct methods" for analyzing structure of crystals. Their experimental apparatus for electron diffraction for characterizing the structures of gaseous molecules provided invaluable insights into key principles that led them later to their successful treatment of the phase problem in X-ray crystallography. However, for many years the crystallographic community remained skeptical about their utility.[2][10] Isabella Karle was the first person to apply the method. She developed the symbolic addition procedure that connects the theoretical "direct method" apparatus and actual X-ray diffraction data.[10] These contributions advanced the field ofX-ray crystallography by enabling determination of the structure of crystals.
One of the first successes of solving crystal structures was determining the structure of the venom of a South American frog. Understanding the mechanism used by the venom to block specific nerve transmission proved to be very useful for the study of nerve transmission for medical purposes. Based on her work, a synthetic from of the venom could be manufactured. This technique has played a major role in the development of new pharmaceutical products and other synthesized materials.[9][11]
In 1985,Jerome Karle was awarded theNobel Prize in Chemistry, together with mathematicianHerbert A. Hauptman, for developing direct methods for analyzing X-ray diffraction data. The Nobel Committee ignored Isabella's crucial role in solving the problem in practice, and Jerome Karle and many other members of the crystallography community strongly believed that Isabella Karle should have shared the prize.[10][2]
Karle was the first to publish the structures of many important molecules. As her successes became known, Isabella brought young women into her laboratory and taught them crystallography. And, as her fame for solving the structures of many difficult crystals spread throughout the community, collaborators across the world sent her samples of their crystals in glass vials. Her models of frog toxins are exhibited at theAmerican Museum of Natural History in NYC.[3]
On July 31, 2009, Karle and her husband retired from the Naval Research Laboratory.[9] Retirement ceremonies for the Karles were attended byUnited States Secretary of the NavyRay Mabus, who presented the couple with the Department of theNavy Distinguished Civilian Service Award, the Navy's highest form of recognition to civilian employees.[9] Over her career, Karle published nearly 300 scientific papers.[11]
Karle served as President of theAmerican Crystallographic Association. She was a member of theAmerican Physical Society and theAmerican Chemical Society.
Karle received many honors and awards. Her first award was theSociety of Women Engineers’ 1968 Achievement Award. She was elected to theNational Academy of Sciences in 1978. She received eight honorary doctorates and awards from the U.S. Navy. (1993).[12][13] She was a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences and was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1992.[14] In addition, she received theNational Medal of Science fromPresident Clinton (1995) and eight honorary doctorates.[15]
Her x-ray scattering technique is used to study biological, chemical, metallurgical, and physical characteristics of crystals. It significantly improved the speed and accuracy of chemical and biomedical analysis and is still today the basis of all advancedx-ray crystallography including computerized programs used around the world. Her technique has played a major role in the development of new drugs and other synthesized materials.[1]
Karle was married toJerome Karle, with whom she had three daughters, all of whom work in scientific fields:[16]
_and_Isabella_Lugoski_Karle_(1921-2017).jpg)
She died on October 3, 2017, at a hospice inAlexandria, Virginia[2] at 95 from a brain tumor. She was exposed to radiation during her work on the Manhattan project.[citation needed]
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