Herbert A. Hauptman Biography

Herbert Aaron Hauptman was an American mathematician who was one of the joint recipients of the 1985 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He was a pioneer in utilizing mathematical equations thereby paving way for novel ways in research for the determination of the structure of molecules of crystallized materials. Interested in mathematics and science as a child, he later took up a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the City College of New York and an M. A. degree in mathematics from Columbia University. He completed his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Maryland and subsequently began working with chemist Jerome Karle on X-Ray crystallography. His knowledge in mathematics and Jerome Karle’s expertise in physical chemistry enabled them to identify the issues associated with X-Ray crystallography, introduce probabilistic methods and deduce mathematical equations while working on understanding molecular structure. Hauptman and Jerome Karle won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1985 for the ‘development of direct methods for the determination of crystal structures’. Hauptman later continued his research as part of the crystallographic group of the Medical Foundation of Buffalo where he took up role as research director and President. He also taught at the Department of Computer Science and Biophysical Sciences in the University of Buffalo. Over his career, he authored over 170 publications in the form of journals, papers, articles, books and chapters.