Alumna’s legacy, generosity lives on in OHIO’s Frontiers in Science lecture series
Jeanette Grasselli Brown, BS ’50, HON ’78, accepts a Founders Citation, the Ohio University Board of Trustees’ most distinguished honor, in this 2003 file photo. Grasselli Brown’s OHIO legacy includes the establishment of the Frontiers in Science lecture series. Photo courtesy of Ohio University Communications and Marketing
For almost three decades, Ohio University’s Frontiers in Science lecture series has brought distinguished scientists to the Athens campus to share their research and expertise with the community. The series, established in 1991, was the result of a gift from OHIO alumna Jeanette Grasselli Brown, BS ’50, HON ’78, and her husband, Glenn R. Brown.
As an undergraduate, Grasselli Brown studied chemistry at OHIO and engaged in research. After graduation, she applied that experience to 38 years of industrial research, retiring in 1989 as director of corporate research and analytical science for BP America.
The first woman inducted into the Ohio Science and Technology Hall of Fame, Grasselli Brown’s accomplishments include one patent, 80 publications and nine books on the topic of infrared and Raman spectroscopy. In honor of her accomplishments and in an effort to encourage Bobcats who followed in her footsteps, Ohio University established the Jeanette Grasselli Brown Undergraduate Research Award, which is given annually to three undergraduate students to help fund research projects.
Grasselli Brown’s generosity and her legacy of fostering academic curiosity within the OHIO and local communities continues on Monday, Feb. 11, with the 2019 Frontiers in Science lecture. The event will feature “Gastropod,” a podcast that takes a critical look at food and its effects through the lens of science and history.
Hosts Cynthia Graber, an award-winning radio producer, and Nicola Twilley, a contributing writer at The New Yorker, will present a live performance of the podcast that will include interactive tastings, experiments and special guest Chris Chmiel, BGS ’92. An OHIO alumnus and Athens County commissioner, Chmiel is the founder and owner of Integration Acres, the largest pawpaw processor in the world.
The Frontiers in Science event kicks off at 7:30 p.m. in Ohio University’s Baker University Center Ballroom. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and admission is free and open to the public.