Martin Karplus biography, awards, education, nobel prize, google scholar, net worth

<< Back

Edit Mode: Martin Karplus

Email *

If we need to contact you, we will contact you on this email.

Full Name *

Your name please so that we can credit your work.

Main Text *

<h2>Early Life and Education</h2>
<p>Martin Karplus was born in 1930 in Vienna, Austria. He and his family fled Austria during the Nazi occupation and lived briefly in La Baule, Switzerland, Zurich, and France before immigrating to the United States. He grew up in a family known for its intellectual and academic achievements. His <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Paul_Karplus">grandfather</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Paul_Karplus">Johann Paul Karplus</a>, was a respected <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Paul_Karplus">professor</a> of psychiatry at the University of Vienna, and his <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Karplus">brother</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Karplus">Robert Karplus</a>, was a notable <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Karplus">physicist</a> and educator at the University of California.</p>

<p>Karplus earned his AB degree from Harvard College in 1950. He then pursued his <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Philosophy">Ph.D.</a> at the California Institute of Technology, where he studied under Nobel <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_Pauling">Laureate</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_Pauling">Linus Pauling</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_Pauling">Pauling</a> once described Karplus as the most brilliant student in his class. Karplus completed his <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Philosophy">Ph.D.</a> in 1953.</p>

<h2>Academic and Research Career</h2>
<p>After earning his doctorate, Karplus served as a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Oxford, where he worked with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Coulson">Charles Coulson</a>. Over the years, he held faculty positions at the University of Illinois and Columbia University before joining Harvard University. At Harvard, he became the Theodore William Richards Professor of Chemistry and later Professor Emeritus.</p>

<p>Karplus has directed a research group at the University of Strasbourg in France, collaborating within a joint laboratory organized between the University of Strasbourg and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). From 1992 to 1995, he also spent two sabbatical periods at the Jean-François Lefèvre NMR Laboratory at Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg.</p>

<h2>Contributions to Theoretical Chemistry</h2>
<p>Martin Karplus made groundbreaking contributions to various fields within physical chemistry, including quantum chemistry, chemical dynamics, and particularly molecular dynamics simulations of biological macromolecules. His work provided significant insights into the behavior of complex chemical systems.</p>

<p>He developed computational methods that laid the foundation for modern molecular modeling. One of his most notable achievements is the development of the CHARMM (Chemistry at HARvard Macromolecular Mechanics) program, an influential tool used for molecular dynamics simulations in computational biology and chemistry.</p>

<h2>Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and the Karplus Equation</h2>
<p>Karplus contributed significantly to the field of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. He is especially known for formulating the Karplus Equation, which describes the relationship between dihedral angles and coupling constants in proton NMR spectroscopy. His work also advanced the understanding of electron spin resonance and nuclear spin-spin coupling in complex molecular systems.</p>

[page-break]

<h2>Nobel Prize and Other Honors</h2>
<p>In 2013, Martin Karplus was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry alongside <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arieh_Warshel">Arieh Warshel</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Levitt_(biophysicist)">Michael Levitt</a>. They were recognized for developing multiscale models for complex chemical systems, a pioneering achievement in theoretical chemistry that bridged quantum mechanics and classical physics in molecular simulations.</p>

<p>In addition to the Nobel Prize, Karplus has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Irving Langmuir Award, the Linus Pauling Award, and the Christian B. Anfinsen Award, the latter awarded in 2001. These honors reflect his far-reaching influence on the fields of chemistry, molecular biology, and computational science.</p>

<h2>Professional Involvement and Legacy</h2>
<p>Throughout his career, Karplus has been committed to mentoring the next generation of scientists. He has supervised approximately 200 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers across his appointments at Harvard University, Columbia University, and the University of Illinois.</p>

<p>He is a <a href="/biography/martin-karplus">member</a> of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science and remains active in research, focusing on the properties of biologically relevant molecules. His presence in academic publications is substantial, and his work can be readily tracked through platforms like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Scholar">Google Scholar</a>. Although his net worth is not publicly reported, his scientific legacy is well-documented and widely respected in the global scientific community.</p>

Source *

Source you received the information from. eg. personal experiences, acquaintances, web-links, etc

Comment *

Briefly describe the changes you made.

Warning! All fields are required. Empty fields won't allow the form to be submitted and your changes will be lost.
Once the changes are submitted they cannot be edited again until your submission is reviewed.