Remembering Benjamin Boussert | LSU College of Science

Remembering Benjamin Boussert

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Left to right: Benjamin's parents, Anne and Christian LSU Chemistry  Professor Robin McCarley; Benjamin's aunt, Gayle Smitherman; University of Texas at Austin Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering Delia Milliron; and Baton Roue artist Mary Ann CafferyVicki Thornton, LSU Department of Chemistry

Family Commissions Stained Glass Window in his Honor by Famed Local Artist Mary Ann Caffery

On Friday, September 23rd, the LSU Department of Chemistry hosted the Benjamin Pierre Boussert Lecture and window unveiling in remembrance of LSU alumnus Benjamin Boussert.

Boussert, a 1999 LSU University Medalist who graduated with degrees in chemistry and chemical engineering, conducted four years of research under the tutelage of Robin McCarley, Barbara Womack LSU Alumni Professor.

Boussert’s interest in nanoscience and sensing technologies led him to the University of California at Berkeley where he worked toward a PhD in physical chemistry with Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science & Engineering Paul Alivisatos. Months before he was to defend his dissertation, Benjamin and two friends, Jason Choy and Giulia Adesso, were tragically killed in an automobile accident.

The Boussert lecture was delivered by Delia Milliron, associate professor of chemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and a Fellow of the Henry Beckman Professorship. Milliron and Boussert were graduate students together in the Alivisatos Laboratory at UC Berkeley. The lecture was followed by a reception and unveiling of a new gift to the chemistry department from the Boussert Family, a stained glass window by renowned local artist Mary Ann Caffery. The work, named “Benjamin’s World” is located in the Benjamin P. Boussert Conference Room on the first level of the LSU Chemistry & Materials Building.

Family, friends and colleagues have established a scholarship to honor Benjamin’s memory and legacy at LSU. His parents, Anne and Christian, and his brother and sister-in-law, Joel and Kelly, have also created an endowment at LSU to support the Dr. Benjamin Boussert Lecture Series for Chemistry. LSU is grateful for the positive impact Benjamin has had on the lives of others and to his family and friends for honoring him through gifts to LSU.