Chiara Silvestrini

I had expected to continue to see Chiara Silvestrini all throughout my life. I had expected that we would continue to compare our experiences as scientists, as women scientists, and as women. Chiara was born in Rome, Italy and lived there all her life. She studied biochemistry and fast reactions. I was born in Austin, Texas, and moved many times. We met while I was a graduate student studying at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, U.K., and she was a visiting scientist. She had a smile with a wink that put you right at ease. She had a lovely Italian accent and would say things like “I am easily seduced by cheesecake.” Or “I hope you will come and visit me in Rome and I will give you a little assay of what life is like there.” When I dried out a separation column in the lab, she smiled and said “It is not the first time a column has ever run dry, nor will it be the last.” That line I have repeated over and over, exchanging the word column with something else to help someone else through a difficult moment.