The Reed Magazine for December 2014 will be etched in my memory as one of the saddest issues ever published. On p. 51 Chemistry’s Catalyst shared the news of Prof. Maggie Geselbracht‘s untimely passing with the larger Reed community. The article began, “Reed College lost a cherished colleague and great friend when Prof. Margret Geselbracht [chemistry 1993-2014] passed away on September 11, 2014, after a long and hard-fought struggle against lymphoma.” While it would be a tragedy to remember my very dear friend only with sadness, I confess I cannot call on her memory without feelings of grief. The retrospective in the Reed magazine gives a very good sense of the joy, passion, and energy that “Chemistry’s Catalyst” brought to our department for so many years.
Another type of remembrance can also be found on p. 14 in Elegant Pro(o)f, a look back at the career of retired physics professor Nicholas Wheeler ’55 [physics 1963-2010]. Nick grew up in The Dalles, a small town situated on the Columbia River east of Portland. After being selected as a finalist in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search in high school, people in The Dalles began encouraging Nick to apply to Reed. What happened next must be one of the classic tales of Old Reed:
“I was terribly naive,” Nick remembers. “I thought going to college was like going to Klamath Falls on a bus; you just bought a ticket. I wrote to the college and said, ‘I’ll be coming. Please send me a scholarship.” Apparently that was good enough for Reed. Nick received a letter saying, “Welcome to Reed College. You’ve been awarded the John S. Schenck Memorial Scholarship.” 63 years passed before Nick learned that this scholarship was restricted to residents of The Dalles.
Scattered through the magazine’s pages are the faces and names of several chemistry alumni and faculty. Arlene Blum ’66 appears on the inside front cover. Speaking on behalf of the Reed College Annual Fund, Arlene states, “By giving to Reed, we can change the world.”
Welcome, New Profs! (p. 10) shares a tiny photo (see the bigger one online) of visiting assistant professor of chemistry and environmental studies, Dr. Christopher Walsh. We learn his academic pedigree (BS at William and Mary, MS + PhD at Oregon State University), but the magazine doesn’t tell us this: this past year Chris taught analytical chemistry (311) and the spring semester of introductory chemistry (102), and next year he will be filling in for Julie Fry (on sabbatical leave).
Class Notes contained a merci beaucoup sent from Jim Kahan ’64 to Prof. Virginia Oglesby Hancock ’62 for the voice training that she has provided to the Reed chorus … Dennis Hall ’66 announced that he is retiring after 15 years as a ‘garden science teacher’ for grades K-3 in the Berkeley Unified School District … Cathy Chaney Cobb ’81 reports that she is holding down two careers: she is an instructor in chemistry, physics, and calculus at Mead Hall School in Aiken, South Carolina, and she is also the author of five books on chemistry, as well as short fiction. You can learn about her latest book, The Chemistry of Alchemy: From Dragon’s Blood to Donkey Dung, How Chemistry Was Forged (Prometheus Books, 2014) in Reediana (p. 39). … Melissa Haendel ’91 accompanied by Sam Haendel attended the 2012 marriage of Christian Seppa ’93 (photo of wedding party on p. 45). … Christina Inman ’00 and Evan Foster ’00 checked in to say that they are doing well as surface chemists at Thermo Fisher. They live in San Mateo, California with son Quillan and daughter Eleri Jane, who was born in May 2014.
Class Notes also reports two very unusual ‘polychemist’ events. First, on p. 48 a photo shows Reed alumni celebrating the 20-year anniversary of the research lab of Kevan Shokat ’86. In the photo Kevan is flanked by an array of Reedies that includes his graduate students, siblings of these students, and his children.
Reedies rejoin Kevan Shokat ’86 for 20th Shokat Lab Reunion. Reed chemists include Kevan, visiting professor Sarah Kliegman ’02, and Joe Kliegman ’06.
Next, on the facing page, p. 49, we see a photo of the Reedies who attended the union of Lyndsey Earl ’07 and Thom Drane ’08 at the “Earls of Drane” wedding. The event was held at Columbia Park in Portland and attracted several Reedies including chemist Luke Kanies ’96. Lyndsey wrote, “We recently fled from beautiful British Columbia, where we were chemistry graduate students at UBC, to hot and muggy Knoxville, Tennessee.” Thom is finishing up his PhD and Lyndsey has begun a postdoc at Oak Ridge National Lab in organic materials chemistry.
Reedies at the “Earls of Drane” wedding party
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