Olga Kennard
{{short description|Hungarian-born British crystallographer (1924–2023)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Olga Kennard
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE|FRS|size=100%}}
| image = Olga Kennard in 2015.jpg
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| caption = Kennard on the 50th anniversary of the CCDC in 2015
| birth_name = Olga Weisz
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1924|03|23}}
| birth_place = Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary
| death_date = {{Death date and given age|df=yes|2023|03|01|98}}
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| fields = Crystallography
| workplaces = University of Cambridge, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre
| alma_mater = Newnham College, Cambridge
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| known_for = Crystallography of organic molecules
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| spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|David Kennard|1948|1961}}|Arnold Burgen}}
| children = 2
}}
Olga Kennard, Lady Burgen ({{née}} Weisz; 23 March 1924 – 1 March 2023) was a Hungarian-born British scientist who specialised in crystallography. She was the founder of the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre.
Kennard's research focused on determining the structures of organic molecules, including the first three-dimensional structure of adenosine triphosphate{{cite journal |title=Three dimensional structure of adenosine triphosphate |doi=10.1038/225333a0 | volume=225 | year=1970 |journal=Nature |pages=333–336 | last1 = Kennard | first1 = Olga | last2 = Isaacs | first2 = N. W. | last3 = Coppola | first3 = J. C. | last4 = Kirby | first4 = A. J. | last5 = Warren | first5 = Stuart | last6 = Motherwell | first6 = W. D. S. | last7 = Watson | first7 = D. G. | last8 = Wampler | first8 = D. L. | last9 = Chenery | first9 = D. H. | last10 = Larson | first10 = A. C. | last11 = Kerr | first11 = K. ANN | last12 = Sanseverino | first12 = L. Riva DI|issue=5230 |pmid=5410514 |bibcode=1970Natur.225..333K |s2cid=33501935 }} and particularly the different forms of DNA.{{cite journal |title=Oligonucleotide structure: a decade of results from single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. |pmid=2695962 | volume=22 | year=1989 |journal=Q Rev Biophys |pages=327–79 | last1 = Kennard | first1 = O | last2 = Hunter | first2 = WN |issue=3 | doi=10.1017/s0033583500002997|s2cid=8052605 }}
Together with JD Bernal she believed in the value of collating scientific data in a central archive, this began the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD), collating crystal structures of mainly organic molecules. Kennard was also involved, at CSD, in the founding of the Protein Data Bank, and of the EMBL nucleotide sequence data library (later, European Nucleotide Archive).{{cite journal |doi=10.1042/bst0121011 |title=The EMBL nucleotide sequence data library |journal=Biochem Soc Trans | volume=12 |year=1984 |pages=1011–1014 | last1 = Kneale | first1 = G. G. |issue=6 | pmid=6530028|s2cid=730696 |url=http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6713/6b63086b14ee16fa9b8c56e76229b2b0f626.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225191704/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6713/6b63086b14ee16fa9b8c56e76229b2b0f626.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 February 2019 }}
Early life and education
Kennard was born in Budapest, Hungary on 23 March 1924,{{Cite book|title=The International Who's Who of Women 2002 |isbn = 9781857431223|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6J8xDWDqOkEC&q=olga+kennard+grammar+school&pg=PA292|last1 = Sleeman|first1 = Elizabeth|year = 2001| publisher=Psychology Press }} to Joir and Catherina Weisz.{{cite book |title=The International Who's Who of Women 2002 |page=292 |isbn=1857431227|last1= Sleeman|first1= Elizabeth|year= 2001|publisher=Psychology Press }} She moved to the United Kingdom at the age of 15 with her family in the face of growing antisemitism in Hungary. In the UK she was educated at Hove County School for Girls and Prince Henry VIII Grammar School, Evesham. She attended Newnham College, Cambridge, studying Natural Sciences at a time when women did not formally receive a degree.{{cite book|last1=Haines|first1=Catharine M. C.|title=International Women in Science: A Biographical Dictionary to 1950|year=2001|publisher=ABC-CLIO|url=https://archive.org/details/internationalwom00hain|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/internationalwom00hain/page/157 157]|isbn=9781576070901|quote=olga kennard.|access-date=7 January 2015}}{{cite book |last=Hargittai |first=Magdolna |title=Women Scientists: Reflections, Challenges, and Breaking Boundaries |year=2015 |page=117 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0199359981}} She went on to gain an MA in 1948.
Career
Following her studies, Kennard worked as a research assistant at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge from 1944 to 1948, working with Max Perutz on the structure of hemoglobin.{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/160786a0 |title=Crystal Structure of Human Carboxyhæmoglobin |year=1947 |last1=Perutz |first1=M. F. |last2=Weisz |first2=Olga |s2cid=4135217 |journal=Nature |volume=160 |issue=4075 |pages=786–787 |pmid=20272987 |bibcode=1947Natur.160..786P }} After this she moved to London, working at the Medical Research Council RC Vision Research Unit from 1948 to 1951. In this role she studied rhodopsin and vitamin A with Hamilton Hartridge. Subsequently, she was a research assistant, establishing a crystallographic lab at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research.{{cite book |title=Women of Science: Righting the Record |page=[https://archive.org/details/womenofsciencer000kass/page/350 350] |isbn=9780253208132 |publisher=Indiana University Press |last=Nash |first=Deborah |year=1993 |url=https://archive.org/details/womenofsciencer000kass/page/350 }}
In 1961 Kennard returned to work in Cambridge (where she had lived whilst working in London) to the University's chemistry department to set up a Crystallography Unit. She remained in this department until retirement but never held a University post as she was seconded from the MRC.{{cite news |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/mar/21/olga-kennard-obituary |title=Olga Kennard Obituary |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524022253/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/mar/21/olga-kennard-obituary |archive-date=2023-05-24 |first=Georgina |last=Ferry |date=2023-03-21 |access-date=2023-06-22 }} During her career she produced over 200 scientific papers and wrote several books.
In 1972, Kennard was among a small group of crystallographers who set up the European Crystallographic Committee (now the European Crystallographic Association) and she became its president from 1975–81.{{cite journal |doi=10.1107/S0108767309041853 |doi-access=free |title=The birth of the European Crystallographic Committee (ECC) and of the European Crystallographic Meetings (ECMs) |year=2010 |last1=Authier |first1=André |journal=Acta Crystallographica Section A: Foundations of Crystallography |volume=66 |pages=1–4 |bibcode=2010AcCrA..66....1A }}
Kennard was best known as a founder of the Cambridge Structural Database and first director (from 1965 to 1997) of the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre. The resource was borne of her belief that "collective use of data would lead to the discovery of new knowledge which transcends the results of individual experiments".{{cite journal |doi=10.1107/S2052520616003954 |title=The Cambridge Structural Database |journal=Acta Crystallogr B |volume=72 |issue= 2|pages=171–179|pmc=4822653 |pmid=27048719 |year=2016 | last1 = Groom | first1 = CR | last2 = Bruno | first2 = IJ | last3 = Lightfoot | first3 = MP | last4 = Ward | first4 = SC|bibcode=2016AcCrB..72..171G }}
Kennard held an MRC special appointment from 1974 to 1989 and was visiting professor at the University of London from 1988 to 1990.
Honours and awards
Kennard was awarded a doctorate of science by Cambridge in 1973 and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1987{{cite web|title=Olga Kennard Royal Society |url=https://royalsociety.org/people/olga-kennard-11735/}} and appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to Scientific Research on the Structure of Biological Molecules" in the 1988 Birthday Honours.{{London Gazette |date=10 June 1988 |supp=y |issue=51365 |pages=10 }} In recognition of her work, an Olga Kennard Research Fellowship in crystallography was created, administered by the Royal Society. The awardee from 2017–22 was Jon Agirre (University of York).{{Cite web|title=Dr Jon Agirre {{!}} Royal Society|url=https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/grants/university-research/jon-agirre/ |access-date=2023-06-22 |website=royalsociety.org }}
In 1993 she was elected a member of the Academia Europaea.{{cite web |url=https://www.ae-info.org/ae/Member/Kennard_Olga |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323192627/https://www.ae-info.org/ae/Member/Kennard_Olga |publisher=Academia Europaea |title=Olga Kennard |archive-date=23 March 2020}}
In 2003 the University of Cambridge made her a Doctor of Law honoris causa.{{cite web |url=https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/honorary-degree-ceremony-2003 |title=Honorary Degree Ceremony 2003|date=23 June 2003}}
In 2021, the IUCr awarded Dr Kennard the 12th Ewald Prize for her "invaluable pioneering contribution to the development of crystallographic databases".{{cite web |url=https://www.iucr.org/news/notices/announcements/2020-ewald-prize-winner |title=Olga Kennard awarded twelfth Ewald Prize}}
Personal life and death
Kennard was married to Sir Arnold Burgen, her second husband, until his death in May 2022. Her first husband was David Kennard, to whom she was married from 1948 to 1961, together having two daughters. Her niece is English actress Rachel Weisz.
After retirement, Kennard was appointed a trustee of the British Museum in 2004, a position held until 2012.
She was an 'architecture aficionado' and lived in a Grade II listed house designed by Danish architect, Erik Sorensen.{{Citation| last = Isaacson| first = Rivka| title = International Women's Day: meeting Olga Kennard | newspaper = Times Higher Education| location = London| date = 8 March 2017}}
The National Portrait Gallery holds her portrait.{{cite web |url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp11770/olga-kennard-nee-weisz-lady-burgen |title=Olga Kennard (née Weisz) (Lady Burgen)}}
Kennard died on 1 March 2023, at the age of 98.[https://www.ch.cam.ac.uk/news/dr-olga-kennard-obe-frs-1924-2023 Dr Olga Kennard OBE FRS, 1924-2023]{{cite web|title=Celebrating Dr Olga Kennard OBE FRS, Founder of the Cambridge Structural Database, 1924–2023 |url=https://www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/discover/news/celebrating-dr-olga-kennard-1924-2023/}}
References
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External links
{{Scholia}}
- {{cite web |url=http://www.loebtree.com/hirscheler.html |title=Hirschler Family Tree |access-date=30 September 2020}}
{{Crystallography}}
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Category:British crystallographers
Category:Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge
Category:Female fellows of the Royal Society
Category:Members of Academia Europaea
Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Category:Trustees of the British Museum
Category:British people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
Category:Hungarian emigrants to the United Kingdom