Harold A. Scheraga

Harold Abraham Scheraga (October 18, 1921 – August 1, 2020) was an American biophysicist and the George W. and Grace L. Todd Professor Emeritus in the chemistry department at Cornell University.

Early life and education Scheraga was born in 1921 in Brooklyn, New York and spent his early life in Monticello, New York. His father worked as a machinist and opened a business there. The family returned to Brooklyn in 1929 due to business losses following the 1929 Wall Street Crash and struggled economically through the Great Depression. As a high school student, Scheraga was interested in mathematics and especially in classics, which he intended to pursue in college, but exposure to physics during his education at the City College of New York convinced him to focus on physical chemistry. They had three children.

Awards and honors Scheraga received numerous awards in recognition of his influence in the protein biophysics field.