Isabella Lugoski Karle determined in high school that she loved chemistry and would pursue a career in the field. Karle earned all three of her degrees at the University of Michigan and met her husband there. After working on the Manhattan Project and holding a faculty position at the University of Michigan, Isabella and her husband, Jerome Karle, were hired by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). Their work at NRL proceeded as had much of their prior work—Jerome undertook the theoretical efforts and Isabella performed the experiments. Spending the rest of her career at NRL, Karle revolutionized crystallography, laying the foundation for three-dimensional structures of molecules and the ability to synthesize those molecules. Her techniques, which have now resulted in the identification of thousands of molecular structures, have enabled the development of new pharmaceutical products and other synthesized materials. The Society of Women Engineers recognized her contributions with the 1968 Achievement Award.