Harold Scheraga facts for kids

Harold Abraham Scheraga (born October 18, 1921 – died August 1, 2020) was an American scientist. He was a biophysicist, which means he studied how living things work using physics and chemistry. He taught chemistry at Cornell University. Scheraga was a very important person in the study of proteins. He especially helped us understand how proteins fold into their correct shapes.

Early Life and Education

Harold Scheraga was born in 1921 in Brooklyn, New York. He spent his early childhood in Monticello, New York. His father was a machinist and started a business there. In 1929, his family moved back to Brooklyn. This was because they lost money during the Great Depression.

As a high school student, Harold loved mathematics and classics. He planned to study classics in college. But when he went to the City College of New York, he became interested in physics. This led him to focus on physical chemistry instead. He earned his first degree from CCNY in 1941. He then got his Ph.D. from Duke University in 1946.

During his studies, he worked on projects for the US war effort in World War II. He also did his own research. After graduating, he worked at Harvard Medical School. There, he started his important work with proteins.

Academic Career at Cornell

Scheraga spent his entire career at Cornell University. He started as an instructor in 1947. He became an associate professor in 1950. By 1958, he was a full professor. He became the Todd Professor of Chemistry in 1965. He retired in 1992, becoming a professor emeritus. This means he kept his title after retiring.

He also led the chemistry department from 1960 to 1967. Throughout his time at Cornell, Scheraga taught many students. He taught basic physical chemistry to undergraduates. He also taught advanced courses about proteins to graduate students.

Groundbreaking Research on Proteins

Harold Scheraga's research focused on protein biophysics. He started this work in the 1940s, when not much was known about proteins. His ideas about how proteins interact with water (called solvation) and the hydrophobic effect were new. The hydrophobic effect is how water pushes oily parts of molecules together. These ideas were important for understanding protein folding. Protein folding is how a protein chain twists and bends into its unique 3D shape. This shape is crucial for the protein to work correctly.

His early work was sometimes debated by other scientists. But it became very important and influenced many others. He also helped create ways to study proteins using computers. He developed models to understand the hydrophobic effect. He also helped create "force fields" for computer simulations. These force fields help scientists predict how proteins will move and fold. Later in his career, he used molecular dynamics simulations. These simulations helped him study protein folding in detail. He often compared his computer results to real-world measurements.

Personal Life

Harold Scheraga met his wife, Miriam Kurnow, in Brooklyn. She was a sociology student at Brooklyn College. They met through a Jewish social club. They got married while Harold was studying at Duke University. Miriam worked as a technician for a short time to help support them. Later, she worked at the Cornell University library. Miriam passed away on January 5, 2020. They had three children.

Harold Scheraga died on August 1, 2020, at the age of 98.

Awards and Honors

Scheraga received many awards for his important work in protein biophysics.

• Guggenheim Fellow, 1956
• Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry, 1957
• Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1966
• Member of the United States National Academy of Sciences, 1966
• Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1967
• Repligen Corporation Award in Chemistry of Biological Processes, 1990
• Fellow of the Biophysical Society, 1999