Herbert A. Hauptman

Herbert A. Hauptman married Edith Citrynell in 1940 and the couple had two daughters; Barbara (born in 1947) and Carol (born in 1950).

He was among the 22 Nobel laureates to sign the 2003 Humanist Manifesto by the American Humanist Association.

He died on 23 October 2011 at Buffalo, New York, after suffering a stroke, at the age of 94.

Herbert Aaron Hauptman was born on 14 February 1917, at New York City, USA. He was the oldest child of Jewish couple Leah (Rosenfeld) and Israel Hauptman.

He completed his school education from Townsend Harris High School and grew interested in mathematics and science. He later pursued his studies from City College of New York and graduated in 1937 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics.

He completed his M. A. degree in Mathematics from Columbia University in 1939. After the World War II, he went on to pursue Ph.D. at the University of Maryland at College Park. He subsequently began working in association with physical chemist, Jerome Karle, at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington D.C. Herbert A. Hauptman completed his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Maryland in 1955.

In 1947, after World War II, along with pursuing advanced studies, Herbert A. Hauptman began working in collaboration with Jerome Karle at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C.

Together, they focused on X-ray crystallography, to derive a 3D structure of a molecule by studying the pattern of scattering of a beam of X-Ray through a crystal form of the molecule. The method of X- ray crystallography had several limitations as scientists could not do more than predict the structure of the molecule which had to be confirmed by further investigation.

Along with Jerome Karle, Hauptman utilized probability theory to understand the light patterns on the X- Ray film, computed the angles at which X-ray beams were diverted as they went past the electrons surrounding the atom nucleus. These observations led to the development of equations that enabled to accurately determine the position of atoms.

These ideas were published in the 1953 monograph ‘Solution of the Phase Problem I. The Centrosymmetric Crystal’. The monograph included information regarding structure invariants and seminvariants and special linear combinations of the phases. Information regarding non-centrosymmetric space groups was added a few years later.

These ideas were beneficial for researchers working with antibiotics, hormones and vitamins as with this method, previously inaccessible structures could be studied.

Herbert A. Hauptman was a mathematician who worked on revolutionary methods to identify molecular structure utilizing X-ray crystallography. His works had a positive impact on subsequent research in modern chemistry as well as the pharmaceutical industry.