Sol Spiegelman (1914-1983), US molecular biologist. Spiegelman initially studied mathematics and physics before starting graduate studies in cellular physiology. Most of his career was spent at the University of Illinois as a professor of microbiology. It was in 1962 that he did the work he is best known for, developing a technique known as nucleic acid hybridization. This would eventually lead to recombinant DNA technology. Photographed in 1974 as part of the publicity following the announcement of his Lasker Award for his work on a form of ribonucleic acid (RNA).