The Oberlin community is invited to the Jessee Rowsell Memorial Symposium and Celebration honoring the life and work of a beloved professor.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Jesse Rowsell died of exposure on a hiking trip near his hometown in northern Ontario on January 30, 2015. He was 37. He is survived by his wife, Rebecca Whelan, associate professor of chemistry; his sister, Rima Rowsell; and his parents, Shelley Rollins and Murray Rowsell.

A memorial symposium will be held in Rowsell’s honor from 1:30 to 5 p.m. April 4 in Wright 201. (Craig Lecture Hall has been reserved as an alternative location if attendance exceeds capacity.) The symposium will be followed by a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Science Center Commons and a social from 9 p.m. to close (midnight) in the downstairs of the Feve.

The symposium and its related events are free and open to all community members. A complete schedule of events is below.

1:30 - 5 p.m.
Symposium, Wright 201*
Moderator: Matt Elrod, professor of chemistry, Oberlin College

• 1:30 - 1:40 Introductory remarks, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Tim Elgren
• 1:20 - 2:10 Linda Nazar, Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo
• 2:10 - 2:40 Nathaniel Rosi, Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh
• 2:40 - 3:10 Juergen Eckert, Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida
• 3:10 - 3:30 Coffee break
• 3:30 - 4:00 Charles Campana, Department of Advanced X-ray Solutions, Bruker Corporation
• 4:00 - 4:30 Stephen FitzGerald, Department of Physics, Oberlin College
• 4:30 - 5:00 Holden Lai and Ren Wiscons, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Oberlin College

5 - 7 p.m.
Reception, Science Center Commons
Brief remarks by family and friends from 6 - 6:30 p.m.
Jazz provided by Oberlin Conservatory of Music

9 p.m. - midnight
Social, Feve downstairs

*Craig Lecture Hall reserved as alternative location if attendance exceeds capacity

As a tribute to Rowsell, the college has established a memorial fund that will be awarded to financially deserving and academically outstanding research students. Donations can be made online by indicating that the donation is a memorial gift. For more information on ways to support the fund, contact Catherine Gletherow at cklima@oberlin.edu.