Harold A. Scheraga
Harold Abraham Scheraga (born October 18, 1921 in Brooklyn , † August 1, 2020 in Ithaca ) was an American chemist who studied biophysical chemistry and was a professor at Cornell University .
Life
Scheraga studied at City College of New York with a bachelor's degree in 1939 and at Duke University with a master's degree in 1942 and his doctorate in 1946. His teachers at Duke University included Fritz London , Hertha Sponer and Lothar Nordheim . During the Second World War he also trained bomber crews in air defense. As a post-doctoral student he was at Harvard Medical School with John Edsall in 1946/47 , where his interest in the physical chemistry of proteins from biology began. In 1947 he became an instructor and later professor at Cornell University, from 1965 as Todd professor . From 1960 to 1967 he headed the chemistry department at Cornell and in 1992 he retired.
In 1956/57 he was visiting the Carlsberg Laboratories of the University of Copenhagen with Kai Lindström-Lang, in 1959 at the Wool Research Laboratory of the CSIRO in Australia and in 1963 (as Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellow) and in 1970 at the Weizmann Institute with Ephraim Katzir , Aharon Katzir and Michael Sela (he also worked with Shneior Lifson in Israel ). He was also on the council of the Weizmann Institute. In 1977 he was visiting professor at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, in 1984 Fogarty Scholar at the National Institutes of Health and he has been visiting scholar at the Scripps Research Institute several times since 1992 and visiting professor at the University of California, San Diego in 1990 .
He dealt with the physical chemistry of proteins and other macromolecules, the structure of water and aqueous solutions and the coagulation of blood (especially the conversion of fibrinogen into fibrin caused by thrombin ). He investigated the formation of the helix structure in proteins and protein folding , for example in ribonucleases . For calculations, he developed the All Atomic Force Field method ECEPP (empirical conformational energy program for peptides) and UNRES (united residue).
He was married to Miriam Kurnow from 1943 and had a son and two daughters.
Honors and memberships
- 1957 Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry
- In 1968 he gave the Harvey Lecture
- 1974 Nichols Medal
- 1978 Kendall Award
- 1985 Linus Pauling Award
- 1990 ACS Award in Polymer Chemistry
- 1997 ACS Award for Computers in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research
- 1999 Ralph F. Hirschmann Award in Peptide Chemistry
- He has received multiple honorary doctorates (Duke University, Technion, University of Rochester, Iowa State University , National University of San Luis in Argentina)
He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences , the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1967), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science . He is an honorary member of the New York Academy of Sciences .
Web links
- Website of his group at Cornell University
- Gordon G. Hammes, Jeffrey Skolnick: Biography of Harold A. Scheraga. In: The Journal of Physical Chemistry B. 116, 2012, pp. 6572-6572, doi : 10.1021 / jp211867z .
- Literature by and about Harold A. Scheraga in the bibliographic database WorldCat
Individual evidence
- ↑ Life data according to American Men and Women of Science , Thomson Gale 2004
- ↑ Obituary
- ^ American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Book of Members ( PDF ). Retrieved April 10, 2016
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Scheraga, Harold A. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Scheraga, Harold Abraham (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American chemist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 18, 1921 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brooklyn |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 1, 2020 |
| Place of death | Ithaca |