Isabella Karle

Isabella Helen Karle (; December 2, 1921 – October 3, 2017) was an American chemist who revolutionized crystallography laying the foundation for three-dimensional structures of molecules 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.

For her scientific work, Karle received the National Medal of Science from President Clinton in 1995 "for the development and application of a method for determining essentially equal-atom crystal and molecular structures by x-ray analysis, thereby having a profound effect on the practice of organic and biological chemistry". She received several honorary doctorates and the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award (which is the Navy's highest form of recognition to civilian employees).

Early life and education Isabella (seated) and Jerome Karle at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, where they worked for many years.thumb Isabella Helen Lugoski was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December 2, 1921, the daughter of immigrants from Poland. who became the restaurant's accountant after discovering a love for numbers.

Karle attended the local public schools and skipped two grades in elementary school, She also drew inspiration from a biography of Marie Curie. 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.

Nobel prize controversy In 1985, Jerome Karle was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, together with mathematician Herbert 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. Over her career, Karle published nearly 300 scientific papers. She received eight honorary doctorates and awards from the U.S. Navy (1993).

1968 Achievement Award from the Society of Women Engineers in "recognition of her significant contributions to the development of unique procedures for crystal structure analysis"

1976 Garvan–Olin Medal 1978 National Academy of Sciences 1980 Captain Robert Dexter Conrad Award 1988 Rear Admiral William S. Parsons Award 1988 Gregori Aminoff Prize, Royal Swedish Academy of Science 1989 Bijvoet Medal of the Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research

Personal life Karle married Jerome Karle in 1942 after completing her MS degree. (1) Louise Karle, born 1946, is a theoretical chemist; (2) Jean Karle (1950) is an organic chemist; and (3) Madeleine Karle (1955) is a museum specialist with expertise in the field of geology.

Karle died on October 3, 2017, at a hospice in Alexandria, Virginia at 95 from a brain tumor. She was exposed to radiation during her work on the Manhattan project.