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| Vol. 18, No. 13 | Dec. 3, 1998 |
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| Vol. 18, No. 13 | Dec. 3, 1998 |
Jean H. Futrell and Anne Krohn Graham
The artwork, on display in the University Gallery in Old College through Dec. 11, is dedicated to Graham's students.
Like the raw copper she uses to form intricate vases, Graham wrote in her exhibition comments, students have not yet gained the patina of age and wisdom, and they are "ready to take off, waiting for direction."
Since 1972, when Graham joined the UD faculty and developed a metal-jewelry program, investigating electrochemical techniques for creating metal objects, she said she has been "a delighted witness" to her students' many career paths.
Now, Graham said, she has begun a journey of her own, which will take her to a "dream home" in Washington state, with her husband, fellow faculty member Jean H. Futrell, Willis F. Harrington Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry (see accompanying article).
Thoughts of life in their new home, overlooking the Columbia River above Richland, Wash., inspired the pieces in Graham's current exhibition, she said.
Central to the exhibition, for example, are two vases installed on a single display table. The first vase, titled "Discovery," is surrounded by pale, blue-gray sagebrush, which Futrell said he collected for Graham during a foray to Washington state. A second vase, dubbed "Fulfillment," is coupled with stalks of yellow wheat.
From their new home atop Badger Mountain, Futrell explained, they can see two distinct regions of Washington-acres of farmland covered by waving wheat and a vast territory of undeveloped sagebrush. For Graham, the sagebrush suggests "ruggedness and determination," but also fragility, she said. Wheat, the "staff of life," promises sustenance and fulfillment in her new life, she added.
"In Washington," she said, "enormous parts of the landscape are dominated by those two plants, so they became important to me. They are very beautiful and meaningful to me."
The "Journeys" collection, symbolizing her "past, present and future challenges," includes a series of copper vases, combined with sunflower seeds, stones and other natural materials. Using the chemical, ferric chloride, Graham etched a series of delicate patterns onto each vase. The embellishments, she said, represent life's complex pathways.
Graham, whose works are among the permanent collections of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the Delaware Art Museum, has offered lectures around the world and has taught in the Far East. She received her master of fine arts degree from the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
She said she was gratified recently to offer a retrospective lecture attended by a number of her former students. "Some of them came from many, many miles," she said. "I didn't realize they would be there, and it was such a joy."
Graham reported that she "looks forward to continuing her work as a studio artist." She and Futrell will begin the move to their new home over the upcoming holidays.
Meanwhile, Graham said, photographs of the house are available for private viewings by friends and colleagues. "I keep the pictures in my purse at all times," Graham said, laughing. "It's really going to be wonderful!" &
-Ginger Pinholster
Photo by Robert Cohen
Jean Futrell accepts two research positions
Jean H. Futrell, Willis F. Harrington Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is retiring to accept two new research positions. But, he said, he will continue to work with UD students and faculty through the year 2000.And, Futrell said, he hopes that his new positions will result in collaborative projects with UD researchers. Beginning Feb. 1, Futrell will serve as director of the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory in Washington state. He also recently was elected 1999 governing board chairperson of the Council for Chemical Research (CCR), a major professional organization.
"I expect that I will maintain a long-term connection with the University of Delaware," Futrell said. "That makes me less sad than I would otherwise be to leave UD. My new laboratory is establishing a new initiative in catalysis, for example, and the UD Center for Catalytic Science and Technology is one of three university research centers that will collaborate with us."
Futrell, who served as chairperson of his department from 1986 until 1997, and his wife, fellow faculty member Anne Krohn Graham, art, will retire from the University. Since their appointments don't expire until 2000, however, Futrell said, he will commute to Delaware until all of his students have completed their degrees.
On Nov. 19, the CCR issued a statement, naming Futrell as the group's new chairperson. He has been active in the organization as a member of its Governing Board, and as chairperson of the Government Relations Committee, the statement said. In 1997, he chaired the Program Committee responsible for the CCR's 19th annual meeting, titled "Revolution in Research: Globalization, Competition, Collaboration."
Futrell earned his doctorate from the University of California-Berkeley in 1958, and he held positions with the Exxon Research Center, the Aerospace Research Laboratories at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the University of Utah before arriving at UD in 1986.
He is a former Fulbright Fellow, whose professional honors include a 1995 American Chemical Society award for Distinguished Accomplishments in Research. As director of UD's Crossed Beam Research Laboratory, he has investigated various mass spectrometry techniques for chemical analysis.
An organization of more than 200 companies, universities, and government laboratories that conduct research in the chemical sciences and engineering, CCR is dedicated to promoting collaboration between sectors and disciplines to advance the chemical enterprise as a whole.
Annual research expenditures of CCR's members represent approximately 75 percent of the U.S. total for chemical research. These efforts support the chemical industry, which represents 10 percent of all U.S. manufacturing. The industry employs more than 1 million Americans, and it is the top U.S. exporter with $69.5 billion in exports in 1997.
