Lucile Rose Hac (May 18, 1909 – December 27, 2006) was an American

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

and

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...

whose research interests included

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha am ...

antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of ...

s, and

bone metabolism Bone remodeling (or bone metabolism) is a lifelong process where mature bone tissue is removed from the skeleton (a process called ''bone resorption'') and new bone tissue is formed (a process called ''ossification'' or ''new bone formation''). T ...

. She was director of research at

International Minerals and Chemical Corporation IMC Global (also known as International Minerals and Chemical Corporation and Imcera) was a mining and production company, formerly listed on the S&P MidCap 400. It was founded in 1909 as International Agricultural Corporation. In 2004, IMC Global ...

and a faculty member in the biochemistry department at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Life

Hac was born on 18 May 1909 in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, and became

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

at Lincoln High School, graduating in 1926. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

in 1930 and 1931, respectively, earning

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

honors in 1931. She completed her Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 1935 at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. Her dissertation, ''The Addition of Cyclopentadiene to Ortho-benzoquinones'', was supervised by Lee Irvin Smith. After working as a bacteriologist for the Maryland State Health Department and a visiting lecturer at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, she worked as a research assistant and instructor at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology from 1936 to 1943. From 1943 to 1961, she worked at the

, becoming their director of research. In 1961 she took a faculty position as associate professor of biochemistry at Northwestern University; she retired in 1977. After retiring, she worked as a career counselor in

Winnetka, Illinois Winnetka () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,316 as of 2019. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of household income. It was the second- ...

, before returning to Lincoln to assist her older sister Marguerite, a music teacher who died in 2003. She died in Lincoln on December 27, 2006.

Recognition

Hac was named a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

in 1951, and as research director at the International Minerals and Chemical Corporation was listed in ''Chemical Who's Who''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hac, Lucile 1909 births 2006 deaths American biochemists American women biochemists American microbiologists University of Nebraska alumni University of Minnesota alumni University of Chicago faculty Northwestern University faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science American women academics 20th-century American women scientists