Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin (May 12, 1910 – July 29, 1994) was a true pioneer in xray crystallography – She wanted to get a look at biologicallyimportant molecules. But the technology didn’t exist to do it – so she developed it. And used it to harness xrays to solve the structure of increasingly complex molecules including the antibiotic penicillin in 1945, the most complex vitamin (vitamin B12) in 1955, and – her lifelong goal – the protein hormone insulin in 1969. She won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964 – the 3rd woman to do so – you might know that – but did you know that she also won the Soviet Union’s version of the Nobel Peace Prize? In addition to an incredible scientist, Hodgkin was active in opposing nuclear weapons and, in addition to advocating for women in science everywhere, she directly mentored several female scientists who went on to become influential crystallographers in their own right. ⠀

note: sorry for the extrabumbliness. spur of the moment post...
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blog form has text & figures (originally posted in Jan 2020, but this video's new): http://bit.ly/dorothycrowfoothodgkin ⠀