chemistry

Leslie Leiserowitz

Leslie Leiserowitz is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Leslie Leiserowitz rather than just read about it. In short: Leslie Leiserowitz (Hebrew: לסלי ליזרוביץ; born 1934 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is an Israeli chemist and crystallographer. Leiserowitz studied electrical engineering at the University of Cape Town with a bachelor's degree, and then worked briefly as an electrical engineer and received a master's degree in physics (X-ray crystallography, under Reginald William James).

Key takeaways

Leslie Leiserowitz belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Leslie Leiserowitz to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Leslie Leiserowitz from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Leslie Leiserowitz (Hebrew: לסלי ליזרוביץ; born 1934 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is an Israeli chemist and crystallographer. Leiserowitz studied electrical engineering at the University of Cape Town with a bachelor's degree, and then worked briefly as an electrical engineer and received a master's degree in physics (X-ray crystallography, under Reginald William James). In 1959 he joined the X-ray crystallography department at the Weizmann Institute under Gerhard Schmidt, a student of Dorothy Crowfoot-Hodgkin. The group at the Weizmann Institute has an international reputation in solid-state chemistry. From 1966 to 1968 he set up the organic chemistry X-ray crystallography department at the University of Heidelberg at the invitation of Heinz Staab. There he developed and installed computer programs using the direct method of Nobel Laureates Herbert Hauptman and Jerome Karle. Back at the Weizmann Institute, Leiserowitz worked on the synthesis of molecules for the investigation of various molecular interactions using X-ray crystallography (crystal engineering). In collaboration with Danish scientists, he also used X-ray diffraction to investigate thin molecular films with synchrotron radiation at DESY in Hamburg. He and Meir Lahav have been working together for many years on the stereochemical control of crystal formation and growth with targeted impurities. He is also active in malaria research, studying malaria pathogens using X-ray microscopy (fluorescence images of iron after X-ray exposure in infected red blood cells) and studying antimalarial drugs such as quinoline compounds. The malaria pathogen breaks down hemoglobin, producing a poisonous heme that docks in hemozoin crystals. Quinolines hinder the growth of the hemozoin crystals. Leiserowitz and Ronit Buller modeled the growth of the hemozoin crystals using computer simulation and found that their crystal surfaces were ideal for the docking of the quinolines. This explained the action of certain antimalarial agents and gave direction for improved drug design. In 1987 he received the Prelog Medal and lecture, in 2002 the Gregori Aminoff Prize together with Meir Lahav, the Israel Prize in 2016, the EMET Prize in 2018 and the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 2021 jointly with Meir Lahav. In 1997 Leiserowitz was elected to the Leopoldina.

Publications Addadi, L.; Berkovitch-Yellin, Z.; Domb, N.; Gati, E.; Lahav, M.; Leiserowitz, L. (1982). "Resolution of conglomerates by stereoselective habit modifications". Nature. 296 (5852): 21–26. Bibcode:1982Natur.296...21A. doi:10.1038/296021a0. S2CID 4262117. Berkovitch-Yellin, Z.; Addadi, L.; Idelson, M.; Leiserowitz, L.; Lahav, M. (1982). "Absolute configuration of chiral polar crystals". Nature. 296 (5852): 27–34. Bibcode:1982Natur.296...27B. doi:10.1038/296027a0. S2CID 4318070. VAIDA, M.; SHIMON, L. J. W.; WEISINGER-LEWIN, Y.; FROLOW, F.; LAHAV, M.; LEISEROWITZ, L.; MCMULLAN, R. K. (16 September 1988). "The Structure and Symmetry of Crystalline Solid Solutions: A General Revision". Science. 241 (4872): 1475–1479. Bibcode:1988Sci...241.1475V. doi:10.1126/science.241.4872.1475. PMID 17790041. S2CID 38176896. Vaida, M.; Shimon, L. J. W.; Van Mil, J.; Ernst-Cabrera, K.; Addadi, L.; Leiserowitz, L.; Lahav, M. (1989). "Absolute asymmetric photochemistry using centrosymmetric single crystals. The host/guest system (E)-cinnamamide/E-cinnamic acid". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 111 (3): 1029–1034. doi:10.1021/ja00185a036. WEISSBUCH, I.; ADDADI, L.; LEISEROWITZ, L. (9 August 1991). "Molecular Recognition at Crystal Interfaces". Science. 253 (5020): 637–645. Bibcode:1991Sci...253..637W. doi:10.1126/science.253.5020.637. PMID 17772367. S2CID 42488951. Weissbuch, Isabelle; Lahav, Meir; Leiserowitz, Leslie (2003). "Toward Stereochemical Control, Monitoring, and Understanding of Crystal Nucleation". Crystal Growth & Design. 3 (2): 125–150. doi:10.1021/cg0200560.

Literature • Oral History Interview with Ute Deichmann, Jacques Loeb Centre for History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion Universität, 2013

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Leslie Leiserowitz

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Leslie Leiserowitz claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Leslie Leiserowitz before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Leslie Leiserowitz ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Leslie Leiserowitz

In research: Leslie Leiserowitz appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Leslie Leiserowitz in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Leslie Leiserowitz is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1934 births, Academic staff of Weizmann Institute of Science, Crystallographers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Leslie Leiserowitz outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Leslie Leiserowitz in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Leslie Leiserowitz means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Leslie Leiserowitz out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Leslie Leiserowitz in simple terms?

Why does Leslie Leiserowitz matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Leslie Leiserowitz?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Leslie Leiserowitz.