Dorothy Hodgkin

Dorothy Hodgkin’s 1964 Chemistry prize revolutionized structural biology by mapping penicillin, vitamin B12, and insulin using X-ray crystallography. This breakthrough transformed drug design, enabling synthetic penicillin production that saved millions of lives; over 60 years later, her structures remain foundational references. Her concrete achievement includes determining the antibiotic’s molecular weight at 334 Da, a data point that guided medicinal chemistry. Hodgkin’s legacy proves that meticulous lab work can outlast theoretical revolutions in immediate human impact.