Oral history with Isabella and Jerome Karle
- 1987-Feb-26 (First session)
- 1987-Jun-15 (Second session)
- 1987-Sep-09 (Third session)
Oral history with Isabella and Jerome Karle
- 1987-Feb-26 (First session)
- 1987-Jun-15 (Second session)
- 1987-Sep-09 (Third session)
Isabella and Jerome Karle met while both were pursuing doctorates in physical chemistry under Professor Lawrence Brockway at the University of Michigan. After earning their degrees (and marrying), they worked on the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago’s Metallurgical Laboratory. After a brief return to the University of Michigan, the Karle’s moved to the United States Naval Research Laboratory, where they focused on the development of X-ray crystallography. They worked together to develop a direct method for determining crystal structures, work for which Jerome Karle, with their colleague Herbert Hauptman, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1985. Over the course of three interview sessions, the Karles discuss their childhoods, early education, undergraduate and graduate work, careers and collaborations.
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Rights | Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License |
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About the Interviewers
James J. Bohning was professor emeritus of chemistry at Wilkes University, where he had been a faculty member from 1959 to 1990. He served there as chemistry department chair from 1970 to 1986 and environmental science department chair from 1987 to 1990. Bohning was chair of the American Chemical Society’s Division of the History of Chemistry in 1986; he received the division’s Outstanding Paper Award in 1989 and presented more than forty papers at national meetings of the society. Bohning was on the advisory committee of the society’s National Historic Chemical Landmarks Program from its inception in 1992 through 2001 and is currently a consultant to the committee. He developed the oral history program of the Chemical Heritage Foundation, and he was CHF’s director of oral history from 1990 to 1995. From 1995 to 1998, Bohning was a science writer for the News Service group of the American Chemical Society. In May 2005, he received the Joseph Priestley Service Award from the Susquehanna Valley Section of the American Chemical Society. Bohning passed away in September 2011.
David van Keuren earned a PhD in history and sociology of science from the University of Pennsylvania in 1982, following a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison (1975) and a bachelor’s from the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire (1972). His graduate studies were concentrated on scientific thought in Europe and America from the Middle Ages to the present. In 1986, he joined the staff of the Naval Research Laboratory as its historian, documenting the agency’s significant research and development achievements past and present, and contributing to national awareness of the broad impact of military scientific research on civil society. He died in a hit-and-run bicycle accident on 26 March 2004, in southwest Washington.
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Oral history number | 0066 |
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Interviewee biographical information
Karle, Jerome
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Education
Year | Institution | Degree | Discipline |
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1937 | City University of New York. City College | BS | Chemistry and Biology |
1938 | Harvard University | MA | Biology |
1942 | University of Michigan | MS | Physical Chemistry |
1943 | University of Michigan | PhD | Physical Chemistry |
Professional Experience
New York (State). Department of Health
- 1939 to 1940 Laboratory Assistant
University of Chicago
- 1943 to 1944 Research Associate, Manhattan Project
University of Michigan
- 1944 to 1946 Research Associate, US Navy Project
Naval Research Laboratory (U.S.)
- 1946 to 1958 Head, Electron Diffraction Section
- 1958 to 1967 Head, Diffraction Branch
- 1967 to 2009 Chair of Science and Chief Scientist of the Laboratory for the Structure of Matter
Honors
Year(s) | Award |
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1959 | Research Society of America Award in Pure Science |
1961 | Elected Fellow- American Physical Society |
1968 | Navy Distiguished Civilian Service Award |
1970 | Hillebrand Award of Washington Section of American Chemical Society |
1972 | President of American Crystallographic Association |
1976 | Navy Robert Dexter Conrad Association |
1976 | Elected to National Academy of Sciences |
1981 | President of International Union of Chrystallography |
1985 | Nobel Prize in Chemistry |
1986 | Honorary Member, International Academy of Science |
1986 | Golden Plate Award of the Academy of Achievement |
1986 | Rear Admiral William S. Parsons Award of the Navy League |
1986 | Townsend Harris Award, Alumni Association of City College of New York |
1986 | Secretary of Navy Award for Distinguished Achievement in Science |
1986 | President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service |
1986 | National Library of Medicine Medal |
1986 | Sigma Xi Centennial Lecturer |
1986 | Thomas A. Edison Memorial Lecturer |
1986 | Distinguished Lecturer in Chemistry, University of Michigan |
1986 | Karl Herzfeld Memorial Lecturer, Catholic University of America |
1986 | Albert A. Michelson Award, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, Illinois |
1986 | Paul Harteck Series Lecturer, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
Karle, Isabella
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Education
Year | Institution | Degree | Discipline |
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1941 | University of Michigan | BS | Chemistry |
1942 | University of Michigan | MS | Physical chemistry |
1944 | University of Michigan | PhD | Physical chemistry |
Professional Experience
University of Michigan
- 1944 to 1945 Instructor
National Research Laboratory
- 1946 to 2009 Head, X-ray Diffraction Section of the Laboratory for the Structure of Matter
Honors
Year(s) | Award |
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1965 | Superior Civilian Service, Navy Department |
1968 | Annual Achievement Award, Society of Women Engineers |
1970 | Hillebrand Award, American Chemical Society |
1973 | Federal Women's Award |
1976 | Garvan Medal, American Chemical Society |
1980 | Dexter Conrad Award, Office of Naval Research |
1984 | Chemical Pioneer Award, American Institute of Chemists |
1986 | Lifetime Achievement Award, Women in Science and Engineering |
1988 | Gregory Aminoff Prize, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences |
1988 | Rear Admiral William S. Parsons Award of the Navy League |
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karle_j_and_karle_i_0066_FULL_Redacted.pdf
The published version of the transcript may diverge from the interview audio due to edits to the transcript made by staff of the Center for Oral History, often at the request of the interviewee, during the transcript review process.