Lyman C. Craig

Lyman C. Craig (born 1906 in Palmyra Township, Warren County, Iowa; died 1974) was a chemical researcher who worked at The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research from 1933 onward.[1] In 1944 he published a seminal work on countercurrent distribution, which became an important separation technique.[2] Craig continued to develop the theory, improve the apparatus and devise new applications of the countercurrent distribution into the 1970s.[3] Countercurrent distribution not only proved to be a useful separation technique, it also inspired the development of the field of countercurrent chromatography.[4] In 1950, Craig invented the rotary evaporator which is a necessary equipment in most chemical labs.[5][6] He also invented the Craig tube, an apparatus used in small-scale chemistry, in particular for recrystallization.[7] He received recognition from his peers and several honors for his scientific accomplishments. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1950.[8] He was the recipient of the 1963 Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research.[9] He also was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.[10]

  1. ^ Moore, Stanford (1978). "Lyman Creighton Craig 1906-1974". National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs: 49–77. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
  2. ^ Lyman C. Craig (1944). "Identification of Small Amounts of Organic Compounds by Distribution Studies. II. Separation by Counter-current Distribution". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 155: 535–546.
  3. ^ Craig, Lyman C. (1973). "High resolution in countercurrent extraction". Journal of Chromatography A. 83: 67–76. doi:10.1016/S0021-9673(00)97028-6.
  4. ^ Friesen, J. Brent; McAlpine, James B.; Chen, Shao-Nong; Pauli, Guido F. (2015). "Countercurrent Separation of Natural Products: An Update". Journal of Natural Products. 78 (7): 1765–1796. doi:10.1021/np501065h. PMC 4517501. PMID 26177360.
  5. ^ Craig, L C.; Gregory, J D.; Hausmann, Werner. (1950). "Versatile Laboratory Concentration Device". Analytical Chemistry. 22 (11): 1462. doi:10.1021/ac60047a601.
  6. ^ Lyman C. Craig page at The Rockefeller University
  7. ^ Craig, Lyman C.; Post, Otto W. (1944). "Improved Apparatus for Solubility Determination or for Small-Scale Recrystallization". Ind. Eng. Chem. Anal. Ed. 16 (6): 413–414. doi:10.1021/i560130a031.
  8. ^ Kresge, Nicole; Simoni, Robert D.; Hill, Robert L. (2005). "Lyman Creighton Craig: Developer of the Counter-current Distribution Method". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 280: 127–129. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
  9. ^ The Lasker Foundation page Archived 2015-01-14 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Cached page at the Nobel Prize site Archived 2016-10-28 at the Wayback Machine