Ralph W. Wyckoff

National Institutes of Health

August 9, 1897 - November 3, 1994


Scientific Discipline: Chemistry
Membership Type:
Emeritus (elected 1949)

Ralph Wyckoff was a pioneer in the fields of X-ray diffraction and crystallography. His method of analysis was more effective than previous approaches because it did not rely on diffraction intensities, but on space-group theory to collect the data. He was able to deduce the structure of crystalline solids such as NaNO3 and CsICl2. He continued his work in structure determination, using ultra-violet microscopy to study biological structures such as cells and antibodies. The information he gathered lead to the development of vaccines, including epidemic typhus and Western equine encephalitis.

Wyckoff attended Hobart College and earned his BS degree in 1916. He went on to attend Cornell University, where he earned his PhD in 1919. He conducted research at many institutions, including the Geophysical Laboratories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, the California Institute of Technology, and the University of Michigan. The National Institutes of Health appointed him scientist director of the Laboratory of Physical Biology. He also helped to found the International Union of Crystallography, where he served as vice president and then as president from 1951 to 1957.

Powered by Blackbaud
nonprofit software