Russ joined the staff of the Chemistry Department in December 2003 and his impact was immediate. Russ received a BS in chemistry from George Mason University in 1993 and received his Ph.D degree in 2000 from Northeastern University. His doctoral thesis was entitled “Synthesis and characterization of a selectively modified triple helix stabilizing ligand for use as an antigene agent”. Over his years at Brown, Russ continued to develop and share his technical expertise with generations of scientists. Russ was an enthusiastic and effective teacher. 

He taught an advanced chemistry course, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, for several semesters, earning excellent teaching reviews. As NMR supervisor, he patiently trained hundreds of graduate and undergraduate researchers to use NMR to advance their research and helped many develop advanced skill sets. These efforts led to Russ being a co-author on several publications with his colleagues at Brown. Russ worked constantly to upgrade the department’s NMR instrumentation and to provide modern, cutting-edge capabilities to our researchers. He successfully spearheaded several grant proposals to purchase NMR equipment and spectrometers. 

Russ is survived by his wife Kate and children Lydia and Tate.

A memorial service will be held at a later date. If you would like to be notified of the details or leave a remembrance, please use this link.