An Austrian-American researcher exiled to the United States in 1938, Martin Karplus taught for several years at the University of Strasbourg.
Former Austrian-American researcher Martin Karplus, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry in 2013, died on December 28 at the age of 94, we learned on Friday from reliable sources. “Martin Karplus passed away peacefully at the age of 94 on Saturday, December 28, 2024 at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts”indicates the death notice published by a funeral home in this state on the American east coast. Alongside British-American Michael Levitt and Israeli-American Arieh Warshel, Martin Karplus won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2013 for his work on computer modeling of chemical reactions.
Born in Vienna, Austria, on March 15, 1930, he was exiled to the United States with his family after the Anschluss in 1938. He confided that his love for science was born from his interest in ornithology and thanks to a microscope given to him by his parents when he was a child. He notably studied at Oxford and Harvard, a prestigious American university where he subsequently became a professor from 1966.
A “friend of France”
From 1992 he also taught for years at the University of Strasbourg, where his close collaborators praised the quality of his work and his endearing personality during a ceremony in the Alsatian capital, after his Nobel Prize. The eclectic scientist spoke on this occasion of his passion for cooking, “the only chemistry I really practiced”he joked. Martin Karplus was also a distinguished photographer. His Leica, received as a gift for his doctorate, accompanied him for a long time and his images were even exhibited in May 2013 at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris.
“While he is rightly celebrated for his intelligence, his refugee status, and his many scientific contributions, perhaps Martin's greatest impact came from the people and communities he brought together, through science , photography or cooking, and who were inspired by his example”underlines the death announcement. “With him we lose a very great chemist and scientist, friend of France and Alsace”wrote on X the former Minister of Higher Education Patrick Hetzel, also from Alsace. Martin Karplus had a wife, a son, two daughters and a granddaughter.
France
