Jerome Karle is a chemist whose research into the structure of atoms, molecules, glasses, crystals, and solid surfaces has greatly advanced the understanding of chemical composition. He is best known for his contributions to the use of X-ray crystallography in determining the structure of crystal molecules, which earned him the 1985 Nobel Prize in chemistry. It was awarded to him jointly with his colleague Herbert A. Hauptman for "their outstanding achievements in the development of direct methods for the determination of crystals." The direct method has greatly increased the accuracy of X-ray crystallography and been of great importance in ascertaining the structure of large molecules. Using the direct method, scientists can determine which parts of molecules are biologically active; this has, among other advances, enabled pharmaceutical companies to engineer artificial compounds with identical properties which can be used as medicinal drugs.

Karle was born in Brooklyn, New York, on...