By Jeannette E. Brown
Discussion and book signing
Mary Jacobs Library
Rocky Hill, New Jersey
Tuesday March 12, 2013
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Registration required for library cardholders and Somerset County Residents.
609-924-7073 ext 4 or online at the library.
Hillsborough resident Jeannette E. Brown retired chemist and author of the book African American Women Chemists will give a talk on the lives of some of the twenty-six women profiled in her book. She will feature the lives of the two women in the book who have connections to New Jersey, Allene Johnson a pioneer African American chemistry teacher at Summit High School and Eslanda Goode Robeson, wife of Paul Robeson who started her career as a chemist. She will tell of the lives of some of the women from the earliest pioneers after the Civil War to those who became chemists before the Civil Rights Acts were passed.
This is Miss Brown’s first book having spent most of her career as a research chemist for CIBA Pharmaceuticals (now Novartis) and Merck Research Labs. Miss Brown also worked at the New Jersey Institute of Technology as director of the National Science Foundation funded Statewide Systemic Initiative for Math and Science. She became a historian and held two fellowships at the Chemical Heritage Foundation. Oxford University Press publishes her book. Miss Brown is currently collecting information for her second book on the subject, which will feature some of the current African American women chemists.
Her book has received favorable reviews in Chemical and Engineering News, Chemical Heritage News, and the Bulletin for the History of Chemistry. Miss Brown was featured in an article in the Courier News on March 6 2012 for following her passion to write this book.
Miss Brown wrote the book in order to provide role models for young girls and boys who could become interested in science and science teaching. She also sponsors an award named The Freddie and Ada Brown Award, for middle school and high school students who are African American or Native American. For details, see the website. www.njacs.org/Awards

