(Malcolm and Ann visiting their favorite place in the world, Aspen, Colorado, Summer 2007)

R. MALCOLM BROWN, JR  URLs: http://www.botany.utexas.edu/ ; http://www.novelmusic.com/)

Spouse: Ann

Children: David, Julie

Grandchild: Christopher

Fifty years ago I entered UT-Austin as a freshman pre-med major. Bill Atkinson and I were dorm mates. Bill was majoring in business. Life in Austin was very different from life in Pampa! First of all, there were TREES down there in central Texas! Being used to the high plains, I was simply amazed at all of the water and vegetation. I will never forget that freshman year. I had a very heavy course load and was making poor grades. My parents were getting on my back over poor performance! I will never forget my first trip home. Rufe Jordan was transporting a prisoner from Austin to Pampa, and my dad made arrangements for me to "hitch" a ride back with Sheriff Jordan. What a ride, sitting in the back seat with this prisoner! When we stopped for lunch or a restroom break, Sheriff Jordan removed the handcuffs and told the prisoner to "be civil" and "do not try to escape or I will get you". Thus we three went into the restaurant and no one knew the true situation. It worked out well. I got back to Pampa unharmed!

Getting through that first year was really difficult, but I did make it and just barely passed with "C"s. I was unhappy about being a pre-med major but I wanted to please my parents, particularly my dad who was a physician in Pampa. Things changed the next year. I decided to take a course in "Economic Botany". I really loved plants and had worked tirelessly at 1919 Charles landscaping our home, which, to this day, still has the trees, honeysuckle, and wisteria that I planted in 1955! Interestingly, Dr Wil Beck and her husband Curt, now live in our old home and it is very beautiful. When you come for the reunion, drive by 1919 Charles! Wil was my dad's medical partner in Pampa for many years along with Dr. Vendrell and Dr. Bellamy.

Back to Economic Botany! This course changed my life! I learned that plants are far more than just flowers and taxonomy collectors with their little back packs! I learned that the entire world depended upon plants for food, shelter, and so many other things. Thus, I took a deep breath and decided to major in botany at UT. As a botany major, I made much better grades. While taking a course in plant morphology, I was in need of some handy cash for dating, and when the professor there announced that he had an opening for a dishwasher, I immediately held up my hand and got this position. After washing many dirty dishes for several weeks, Dr. Bold said, "Malcolm, you have done a good job washing dishes. How would you like to prepare culture media?" Thus, I prepared culture media. Then after a few weeks, Dr. Bold said, "Malcolm, you have done a good job preparing culture media. How would you like to transfer and maintain our algae collection?" Then after a few weeks, Dr. Bold said, "Malcolm, you have done a good job with our algae. How would you like to go to Woods Hole for the summer?" I responded, "Woods Hole? What's that?". Little did I know that this was America's premiere place to study marine biology. Located in Massachusetts, I set off for Woods Hole. I was the only undergraduate student ( a sophomore at the time) in the class. I loved this summer! In fact, this is what really changed me to pursue a career in botany majoring in the algae! I returned to Austin totally recharged and ready to continue.

Then, that year, my roommate, Riley Sloan and his girlfriend, talked me into a date with Beverly Sloan's best friend. I already had been dating a number of girls at UT and, in fact, had really gotten somewhat serious with one, but after I met Ann Callaway when we attended a "grubby party" at my Acacia fraternity, everything changed! It was love at first sight, and after that night, I knew that I was going to marry Ann.

This photo was taken on that first, fateful, night at the grubby part! I still have the pajama tops that I wore! All of the other girls were so "grubby" at the grubby party, but Ann was so beautiful! She was not told to dress grubbily! On August 26 of this year, Ann and I celebrated our 46th wedding anniversary.

I graduated with a degree in botany in 1961 at UT (Arnold Birdsong and I were the only two botany majors!). Then Professor Bold invited me to enroll in the graduate program in Botany at UT Austin, and the rest is history for me. I received my doctorate in 1964. Then I was invited to joint the faculty at UT as an Assistant Professor. Then in 1968, I got a job offer from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We moved there and loved it, staying for 13 years. Then in 1981, The University of Texas offered me an endowed centennial chair if I would move back. I did and have been here ever since. I am NOT retired, nor do I plan to retire anytime soon. I have always told my friends that it is so much fun to be "paid to play"! Honestly, having the opportunity to teach so many undergraduates and graduate students over the years has been extremely inspiring for me. I can tell you that every day I am thankful for my job and the opportunity to help educate young minds.

We live in Westlake Hills, a small community completely surrounded by Austin which is growing larger and larger by the day. My hobbies are gardening and composing music, the later of which stemmed from taking piano lessons from Mrs. Elise Donaldson Waters in Pampa. Music and science go hand in hand! Music fuels my creativity in science.

My latest efforts in science are coming back to those algae that inspired me in the late 1950s and were the subject of my doctoral dissertation. I have been studying these algae over the years as well as the process of cellulose biosynthesis. Now, we want to investigate a particular kind of alga, the cyanobacteria (= bluegreen algae) as microbes which have the ability to take sunlight and convert the CO₂ fixed by photosynthesis, into glucose and metabolites in the cell (called biomass). I am focusing on the cell being able to synthesize cellulose which we believe could be the next large scale source for ethanol production. I am sure that you all have heard a lot recently about biofuels and ethanol from corn; however, we want to have cyanobacteria make the feedstock for ethanol, not corn or switchgrass or wood chips. All of these sources need arable land. Cyanobacteria grow in salt water ponds in the desert and do not require nitrogen fertilizers.

Thus, last month, I visited Utah to collect cyanobacteria and to see where we could set up shop. Our efforts will be to produce 1 billion tons of biomass each year in the United States on non-arable land, and hopefully this could take care of 30% of our transportation fuel needs and lower the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It's a tall order, but it is an unparalleled opportunity to try and do some good from the many years of my involvement in science.

Ann and Malcolm collecting cyanobacteria north of the Great Salt Lake in Utah in August, 2007.

Thus, I still have lots more to do. Looking forward to seeing you in Pampa for our reunion. I have been given the great honor to be the keynote speaker after our banquet. I promise you I will keep the talk interesting and hopefully on time! See you all soon!

.....and THANK YOU, LUTHER, for putting all of this together for us!