Herbert A. HauptmanBorn 14 Feb 1917; died 23 Oct 2011 at age 94.Herbert Aaron Hauptman was an American mathematician and crystallographer who shared the 1985 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with Jerome Karle, with whom he collaborated, “for their outstanding achievements in the development of direct methods for the determination of crystal structures.” They developed mathematical methods for interpreting the patterns formed on photographic film by X rays diffracted through a crystalline chemical compound to determine its molecular structure. The knowledge of structure has two great benefits. One, in understanding the function of molecules in biological contexts, expecially those of “signal - receptor processes.” These include such processes as enzyme activity; antigen - antibody; and scent substance - scent receptor. Another is in studying the mechanism and chemical dynamics of reactions.« |
