chemistry

Richard E. Dickerson

Richard E. Dickerson 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 Richard E. Dickerson rather than just read about it. In short: Richard Earl Dickerson (October 8, 1931 – May 14, 2025) was an American biochemist. He was the first to carry out a single-crystal structure analysis of B-DNA, with what has become known as the "Dickerson dodecamer": C-G-C-G-A-A-T-T-C-G-C-G.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Richard Earl Dickerson (October 8, 1931 – May 14, 2025) was an American biochemist. He was the first to carry out a single-crystal structure analysis of B-DNA, with what has become known as the "Dickerson dodecamer": C-G-C-G-A-A-T-T-C-G-C-G. At UCLA he continued his investigations of the structures of A- and B-DNA, and of complexes between DNA and drugs or proteins. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1985. During the academic year 1997–1998, Dickerson was the Newton-Abraham Visiting professor in Medical, Biological and Chemical Science at Lincoln College and the Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics at Oxford University. From 2013, Dickerson was listed on the Advisory Council of the National Center for Science Education.

Education B.S. in chemistry from Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1953. Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1957 at the University of Minnesota, studying the structures of boron hydrides under the direction of future Nobel Laureate Professor William N. Lipscomb. Postdoc for two years at the University of Cambridge with John C. Kendrew.

Appointments and positions held Professor emeritus, department of chemistry and biochemistry, UCLA, US Professor, department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Caltech, US <textbook, Chemical Principles>

References

External links Dickerson research lab at UCLA

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Richard E. Dickerson

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Richard E. Dickerson 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 Richard E. Dickerson 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 Richard E. Dickerson 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 Richard E. Dickerson

In research: Richard E. Dickerson 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 Richard E. Dickerson 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: Richard E. Dickerson is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1931 births, 2025 deaths, 21st-century American biochemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Richard E. Dickerson 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 Richard E. Dickerson in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Richard E. Dickerson 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 Richard E. Dickerson out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Richard E. Dickerson in simple terms?

Why does Richard E. Dickerson 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 Richard E. Dickerson?

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 Richard E. Dickerson.