Cyrus Levinthal

Cyrus Levinthal
Born	(1922-05-02)May 2, 1922 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died	November 4, 1990(1990-11-04) (aged 68) Manhattan, New York
Known for	Levinthal's paradox
Scientific career
Fields	Molecular biology
Institutions	University of Michigan MIT Columbia University
Thesis	A Study of Protons Ejected from Nuclei by High Energy Gamma Rays (1950)
Doctoral advisors	A. Carl Helmholz Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky
Doctoral students	Joel Sussman, Shoshana Wodak

Cyrus Levinthal (May 2, 1922 – November 4, 1990) was an American molecular biologist.

Biography

Levinthal graduated with a Ph.D. in physics from University of California, Berkeley and taught physics at the University of Michigan for seven years before moving to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1957. In 1968 he joined Columbia University as the Chairman and from 1969 Professor of the newly established Department of Biological Sciences, where he remained until his death from lung cancer in 1990.

Research

While at MIT Levinthal made significant discoveries in molecular genetics relating to the mechanisms of DNA replication, the relationship between genes and proteins, and the nature of messenger RNA.

At Columbia Levinthal applied computers to the 3-dimensional imaging of biological structures such as proteins. He is considered the father of computer graphical display of protein structure.

Discoveries and accomplishments

See Levinthal's paradox.

References

Levinthal, Cyrus (2014). "Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences" (PDF). Duardo Macagno, Barry Honig and Larry Chasin.

External links

• Cyrus Levinthal on Columbia University website
• Early Interactive Molecular Graphics at MIT