Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Maria J. Haas

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… 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”… 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”… 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”… 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”… 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”… Oxford graduation, 1932 X-ray studies at Cambridge Good News: complex proteins could be analyzed Bad News: diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis After graduation from Oxford with degree Drawing of Dorothy’s crippled hands by Henry Moore

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… 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… 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”… 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… 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… Commuter spouses Dorothy’s sister and family moved in Always had guests: Third World leaders Scientists Children’s friends Christmas parties Dorothy with daughter

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… 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… 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… 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”… 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… 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”…

References “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.