Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin

With this app students learn about the life and contributions to biological chemistry made by Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin. It discusses her work in X-ray crystallography to reveal the molecular structures of insulin, penicillin and vitamin B12.

Dorothy Crowfoot was born in Cairo, Egypt. Her father was a British archaeologist and her mother was a botanist who studied natural history. Dorothy developed a keen interest in science. Traveling to archaeological digs with her farther brought Dorothy to places where she was exposed to a great deal of Islam art. Her father worked primarily in North Africa and as archaeologist he studied ancient artifacts. Later at Oxford University she began to work with X-ray crystallography in studying sterols. The prestigious Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin in 1964 for her use of X-ray crystallography to discover the structures of important biochemical substances, such as B12, insulin and penicillin.

Students will enjoy using this graphically illustrated, interactive learning tool. The timeline feature presents key events in the development of our modern understanding of the structure and composition biological molecules. By tapping on timeline points brings up descriptions of historically significant events and the role the Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin played. A quiz function helps students demonstrate their comprehension of the reading material. Key science concepts are shown in colorful illustrations. We hope this app will inspire students to study science. The app shows that Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin certainly deserves the place she has earned in the history of science.