Alexander Rich

Alexander Rich, 90, a renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology biophysicist who made major contributions to the understanding of the structural biology of RNA and DNA, died on April 27 in Boston.

Born in Hartford, Rich served in the Navy before earning an A.B. degree in biochemical sciences from Harvard University in 1947 and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1949.

He then worked with Linus Pauling as a chemistry postdoc at California Institute of Technology. From 1954 until 1958, he served as chief of the section on physical chemistry at the National Institute of Mental Health. During that time, Rich and his colleagues elucidated the structure of collagen and reported for the first time that two strands of RNA could form a double helix.

Rich joined the MIT faculty in 1958 and later became the William Thompson Sedgwick Professor of Biophysics in the biology department. In 1960, he discovered that strands of RNA and DNA could come together to form a double helix, which helped clarify how cells copy DNA into messenger RNA. He and his group also discovered polysomes—clusters of ribosomes attached to mRNA that cells use to translate genetic information to synthesize proteins.

In 1979, Rich and his MIT colleagues used X-ray crystallography to discover a left-handed form of DNA, which they named Z-DNA for its zigzag backbone. The findings contrasted with those of James Watson and Francis Crick, who had described the right-handed, double-helical structure of DNA in the 1950s. Subsequently, Rich’s research focused on Z-DNA’s significance in biological systems—something that is still not fully understood.

“Alex was an inspirational scientist,” says Thomas Schwartz, an associate professor of biology at MIT who was a Ph.D. student under Rich and studied the function of Z-DNA. “Always keen on solving the next scientific puzzle, always keen on figuring out the latest technology to move forward. His curiosity was second to none,” Schwartz adds.

Rich cofounded several biotech firms, including Repligen and Alkermes.

In 1995, Rich received the National Medal of Science from President Bill Clinton. He received numerous other accolades, including the Welch Award in Chemistry in 2008 and the Linus Pauling Medal from the Oregon, Portland, and Puget Sound Sections of ACS in 1995.

He was a member of many organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences, the French Academy of Sciences, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. He was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and an emeritus member of ACS, which he joined in 1951.

Rich is survived by his wife, Jane; sons, Josiah and Benjamin; daughters, Jessica Sturley and Rebecca; and seven grandchildren.