Phyllis A. Brauner

The Phyllis A. Brauner Memorial Lecture honors the memory of Phyllis A. Brauner (1916-2000) and her steadfast dedication to the chemistry community and to teaching chemistry to the public.

Phyllis was born in Natick, MA, graduated from Walnut Hill School in Natick, earned an A.B. in chemistry from Wheaton College in 1938, and a M.A. in chemistry from Wellesley College in 1940. She was an instructor at Northeastern University and then at Swarthmore College.

In 1948, after the untimely death of her husband on an Air Force mission, Phyllis left Philadelphia and brought her two young daughters back to the Boston area. She earned the Ph.D. from Boston University in 1959 and was a professor at Simmons College for 34 years.

Always interested in travel and other cultures, she took sabbaticals in Switzerland and Sweden, joined a “People to People” program to Russia and Europe, took part in the first goodwill trip of the ACS to China, joined Earthwatch expeditions to the USSR, Poland, and Rarotonga.After retiring from Simmons, she taught in Japan and Guam before becoming a lecturer at Framingham State College.

Throughout her long career in Boston, Phyllis was extremely active in the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society. In 1974, she was the first woman to preside in the chairmanship of the section. She was also a Member of the Board of Directors, a member and/or chairman of numerous committees, a Councilor of the section, a Trustee, and an Editor of The Nucleus. She was among the prime organizers of chemical events, such as the “ACS Night at the Pops” and the “Summer Thing” annual outing.In 1985, she received the Henry A. Hill Award for Outstanding Service to the NESACS.

Phyllis’ sense of adventure, scientific curiosity, and passion for teaching were evident in all aspects of her life.