Jeannette Brown Lectureship
Department of Chemistry celebrates inaugural Jeannette Brown Lectureship
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021
- 10:00 am - 11:30 am: Inaugural Jeannette Brown Lecture - Professor Richmond Sarpong (UC Berkeley)
Introduction by David Blank, Mike Kress, Amjad Ali, Tao Wang. Dipannita Kalyani, Tom Hoye, and Jeannette Brown
Professor Richmond Sarpong (UC Berkeley)
"A Life Shaped by Diseases and Medicine in Sub-Saharan Africa" ZOOM - 11:30 am- 12:15 pm: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) discussion with Professor Richmond Sarpong for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars ZOOM
- 12:45 pm - 1:15 pm: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) discussion with Professor Richmond Sarpong for staff and faculty ZOOM
- 1:15 pm - 1:45 pm: science discussion with Professor Richmond Sarpong - open to all graduate students and postdoctoral scholars ZOOM
Thursday, February 4th, 2021
- 9:45 am - 11:00 am: Professor Richmond Sarpong (UC Berkeley) - keynote lecture
"Break-it-to-Make-it Strategies for Chemical Synthesis Inspired by Complex Natural Products" ZOOM - 11:15 am - 12:12 pm: Dr. Olugbeminiyi Fadeyi (Merck Exploratory Science Center) - keynote lecture "Mapping Cell-Cell Interactions in Tumor Microenvironment via Photocatalytic Proximity Labeling" ZOOM
- 2:00 pm - 5:20 pm: Student flash talks
- Session 1 - organic chemistry
Host: Nick Race Jeannette Brown Lecture Flash Talks Room 1 ZOOM - Session 2 - chemical biology and medicinal chemistry
Host: Tom Hoye Jeannette Brown Lecture Flash Talks Room 2 ZOOM - Session 3 - inorganic and organic chemistry
Host: Valérie Pierre Jeannette Brown Lecture Flash Talks Room 3 ZOOM - Session 4 - polymer, material, analytical/physical, and computational chemistry
Host: Jessica Lamb Jeannette Brown Lecture Flash Talks Room 4 ZOOM
- Session 1 - organic chemistry
Professor Richmond Sarpong is the invited speaker for the Department of Chemistry’s inaugural Jeannette Brown Lectureship, which is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. through Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. Sarpong will present two virtual lectures and meet with students and faculty and the department’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. This lectureship is sponsored by Merck and by donations to the Jeannette Brown Lectureship Fund.
Dr. Olugbeminiyi Fadeyi was originally from Nigeria. Currently working at Merck Exploratory Science Center as a Molecular Invention Scientist; he is developing a platform that integrates chemistry and biology to study novel mechanistic basis of human diseases to develop new therapeutics.
The Department of Chemistry established the Jeannette Brown Lectureship to honor the career and legacy of one of its outstanding alumna. This lectureship will bring experts in all fields of chemistry from around the world to the University of Minnesota, with emphasis on highlighting the work and careers of Black, Indigenous, and people of color in the chemical sciences. The lectureship reflects and celebrates the pioneering work of Jeannette Brown as a talented chemist in the pharmaceutical industry for 25 years, author, historian, and tireless leader and advocate for the inclusion and advancement of African American women in chemistry-related professional pursuits and careers.
Alumna Jeannette Brown
Brown is the first African American to receive a degree from the Department of Chemistry's graduate program, earning her master's degree in 1958. She is a former faculty associate in the Department of Pre-College Programs at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. For 25 years, she worked as a research chemist at Merck. She is the author of two books, "African American Women Chemists" and "African American Women Chemists in the Modern Era." She is a Société de Chimie Industrielle (American Section) Fellow of the Chemical Heritage Foundation (2004), and is a member of the first class of American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellows (2009). For her distinguished service to professionalism, she received the Henry Hill Award from the ACS Division of Professional Relations in 2020. For her work as a mentor to minority students and science education advocacy, she was elected to the Hunter College Hall of Fame in 1991; was honored by the University of Minnesota with an Outstanding Achievement Award in 2005; and received the ACS national award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences in 2005.
The Jeannette Brown Lectureship is supported by donations. Supporters can go to the Department of Chemistry’s giving page to donate.