David Mervyn Blow. 27 June 1931 — 8 June 2004

Abstract

David Blow helped build the foundations of protein crystallography and transform it into a highly effective methodology. In the early 1950s he was a member of the small group of scientists, led by Max Perutz, that developed the first methods and solved the first structures. With a background in physics and mathematics, together with a perceptive ability to foster productive collaborations, he made fundamental contributions to the two principal methods of structure determination in protein crystallography, known as isomorphous replacement and molecular replacement. His achievements, insight and organizational skill helped to establish two outstanding laboratories, the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, where he worked from 1954 to 1977, and the Biophysics Section in the Physics Department at Imperial College in London, where he was a professor from 1977 onwards. His far-sighted and persuasive planning contributed to the harmonious and supportive culture that has characterized crystallography in the UK and influenced its development worldwide.