BRIAN CRAWFORD received his PhD in 1982 from the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics (now Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) and went on to a lustrous career both as a researcher and leader in scientific publishing. As a researcher, Crawford had the honor of being the first biologist to be appointed as a J. Robert Oppenheimer Fellow of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where, as a member of research staff within the Genetics Group of the Life Sciences Division, he joined early efforts that later led to the Human Genome Initiative. 

Crawford then entered the world of scientific publishing, including serving as the President of the American Chemical Society Publications Division from 2007 until his retirement in 2019. In this role he held management responsibility for the portfolio of dozens of peer-reviewed journals and the magazine publishing operations of the Society’s industry-leading news periodical, Chemical & Engineering News. ACS is a world-recognized leader in scientific publishing, and Crawford’s period of leadership oversaw a changing landscape for scientific publishing, with evolving web-based publishing and an expansion of the Societies’ offerings. 

Crawford is now a strategy consultant and advisor serving clients within the global scientific, technical, and medical publishing industry. He has served as a member of the Bloomberg School’s Health Advisory Board since 2016. 

To recognize and celebrate excellence on the part of our PhD students, Crawford established the Brian D. Crawford and Family Research Scholarship in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. This scholarship is awarded to PhD students in recognition of their achievements in academics, research and service. The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is grateful to Brian Crawford and his family for making this scholarship possible.