Dorothy Crowford Hodgkin

(1910-1994)

(Winner of 1963 Nobel Chemistry)

Preview :

Childless mother of three, is not an ordinary mother. He is the third female winner of Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963 after Madame Curie and her daughter Irene Curie Juliot, and he also was the second woman to receive the Order of Merit award from Queen Elizabeth II after Florence Nightingale.

Very lucky little Dorothy was born in the midst of the British academic elite environment overseas. He was born in Cairo, Egypt, which at that time were British colonies, at the time his father served in the there and worked for the Egyptian Education Service. His mother also was a botanist and textile expert who spends his spare time to create illustrations of plants.

At the time his father served in the Sudan, Dr. AF Joseph, a friend of his parents gave him the chemicals to analyze the ilmenite. And when Dorothy was just 10 years old! It is unclear whether at that moment Dorothy just a fad or not, but from since the 1800s, indeed, chemistry, archeology, and geology are the new toys the rich.

After graduating from Somerville College, Oxford, Dorothy worked in the laboratory X-ray crystallography at Cambridge University and a joint JD Bernal she applied X-ray diffraction on protein crystal, pepsin. In addition to announcing the X-ray diffraction pattern of pepsin, they also claim that in order to study the protein crystal, the crystal must be studied in the original solution and not dried like most at that time because of dry protein crystals produced diffraction patterns that are difficult to be interpreted.This method later became standard in studying the structure of biomolecules with X-rays

In 1934 Dorothy returned to his alma mater, Oxford University and still struggle with the patterns of X-ray diffraction to determine the structure of biomolecules. One of the greatest success with insulin started at about this time, a long struggle that ended with a big victory 34 years later.

In the university environment he was prohibited from attending meetings of research conducted by faculty chemistry club because she is a woman. But the talent and perseverance that finally gave him a strong position in the academic environment still dominated by men at that time. Immediately after the 2nd World War started, the doctors began to run out of penicillin, an antibiotic that at that time could only be obtained with the traditional way: mushroom farming. Armed with X-rays, Dorothy managed to determine the structure that allows the antibiotic penicillin is produced by synthesis with a large scale. It uses the method of isomorphous crystals, the crystals in which one atom is replaced with heavier atoms. This heavy atoms scatter X-rays will come more powerful than atomic protein molecule itself. With mendifraksikan X-rays in a position of some crystals isomorphous replacement of heavy atoms is different, information from several X-ray diffraction images collected can be put together to determine the actual molecular structure.

In 1937 Dorothy married to Dr. Thomas Hodgkin, again an academic elite, the niece of AL Hodgkin, Nobel Prize winner for medicine. Dorothy and Thomas was awarded the 3 children, 2 sons and a daughter. In addition to the busy life of teaching, researching and educating his children, he even had time to participate in international humanitarian organizations for world peace. He inherited his mother's idealism which had lost 4 brothers in the war.

All colleagues have always used the words sincere, simple loving, and caring when asked about him. Her house is always open for friends and students protege, which makes it a mother not only for his own children but also the students are fascinated by the sharpness of mind and gentleness of his heart. One of his pupils was Margaret Thatcher, the only British prime minister who has a degree in science.

It was so simple and sincere way of thinking Dorothy, he could not get a visa to enter the United States. This is caused by the persistence of attitudes to involve scientists from behind the iron curtain: the Soviet Union, to participate in conferences crystallography. Only after the world increasingly recognize the results of its work and the Soviet Union broke up in 1990, he could obtain a U.S. visa.

Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, as seemed so perfect. Mothers who are successful, a brilliant scientist and humanitarian activists are vocal. But really all that he lived as he fought with rheumatoid arthritis disease that attached to him for life since being diagnosed at the age of 24 years. While the parents go through with the feet and hands are paralyzed, this did not hinder their activities to fly there to attend the symposium-let international symposium.

After such a busy life and determine the molecular structure of penicillin, insulin, vitamin B-12 and many other proteins, total suspended Dorothy activity by a stroke in 1994.