In Memoriam: Brian Andreen, Former RCSA Vice President
RCSA mourns the loss of Brian Andreen, who died in Tucson on January 19, 2023. Although Andreen ended his decades-long career with the foundation in 1996 as vice president, he is remembered today as much for his warmth and easygoing manner as for his dedication to nurturing early career physical scientists, especially at undergraduate institutions.
“Brian Andreen helped create a culture of community building at RCSA that went beyond just giving out awards,” RCSA President & CEO Daniel Linzer said. “That culture continues today.”
“Brian understood the power of building scientific community,” said RCSA Senior Program Director Silvia Ronco. “At RCSA, Brian started programs like Cottrell Scholars and Partners in Science aimed at improving science teaching by embedding research activities at the college and high school levels. His tireless work with science faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions prompted the start of the Council on Undergraduate Research in 1978 as a way to advocate successfully for new programs from federal funding agencies.”
“His passion in promoting community building to impact change went beyond starting a national organization,” said Ronco, who also served as CUR’s 2020-2021 president. “Brian’s endless sense of humor and wise advice is still remembered by many in the communities he touched.”
Andreen was born in Superior, Wisconsin, and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin at Superior and a master’s degree in analytical chemistry from Florida State University. He was supervisor of chemical research at the Institute of Gas Technology in Chicago before joining Research Corporation in 1964. He was editor of three editions of Research in Chemistry and the first edition of Research in Physics and Astronomy. He was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the Midwest Association of Chemistry Teachers in Liberal Arts Colleges (MACTLAC).
Andreen joined Research Corporation in 1964 as regional director, serving the Chicago office from 1964-1969, the Minneapolis office from 1969-1983, and the Tucson headquarters when the foundation consolidated operations in 1983. In 1986 he became coordinator of RCSA’s newly organized and expanded grants program. He was director of programs for science research and education when he was appointed vice president in 1992.
“This was an era where you didn't wait for proposals to come in,” said former RCSA President John P. Schaefer. “You went and walked the halls. You found the good ideas. Brian would ferret out promising young people. And a lot of those people came to be significant players in the field of science and technology.”
“Brian had an incredible ability to relate to people,” Schaefer said. “He had the evangelical spirit that drove him to find potentially fertile ground for the seeds Research Corporation could plant.”
“Brian was an inspiration to the program directors who followed him,” RCSA Senior Program Director Richard Wiener added. “He set the standard.”
Andreen leaves a legacy at RCSA, CUR, and the countless colleges and universities impacted by his work.
The Partners in Science program, through which RCSA funded research opportunities for high-school science teachers to work with research scientists at colleges and universities nationwide from 1988 to 1999, continues today under the sponsorship of the Murdock Trust. The Cottrell Scholar Program continues to grow in impact, having championed more than 500 outstanding early career teacher-scholars in chemistry, physics, and astronomy since it began in 1994. And CUR, which Andreen served as executive secretary from 1979-1987 and as a guiding force for many years, has grown into an organization with nearly 700 institutional and more than 13,000 individual members from around the world, sharing a focus on high-quality and collaborative undergraduate research.
Andreen is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, and four children: Karin, Laurie, Carole and Eric.
A celebration of life will be held at 1:30 p.m. March 11 at Catalina Foothills Church in Tucson. Gifts in memory of Brian Andreen may be made to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona or Tucson’s Gospel Rescue Mission.
