Anil Mukherji was born in Gwalior, India but grew up in Jhansi where he completed his high school education. His BS, MS, and PhD degrees in chemistry were all received from Allahabad University. The subject of his PhD thesis was Metal Complexes. Anil was also elected to the Sigma Xi honorary society.
After moving to the United States, Anil performed post-doctoral research work at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge from 1957 to 1960 in the fields of air and water pollution. He was then appointed an Assistant Professor at LSU, New Orleans where he taught Analytical Chemistry until 1965. Moving then to Philadelphia, he was an Associate Professor at Drexel University, also teaching Analytical Chemistry there until 1972. Anil has published prolifically with about 200 papers and a book to his credit, the latter being "Analytical Chemistry of Zirconium and Hafnium", published by Pergamon Press.
Anil left teaching to enter the industrial realm by joining Xerox in Rochester in 1972. His career there spanned 28 years, the first 13 in the laboratory involving analysis of polymers. Subsequently he worked in quality control ensuring the maintenance of specifications for the raw toner and photoreceptor materials. Anil retired from Xerox in 2000. His wife Nina is also retired after working 25 years as a librarian in the Xerox Research Library.
Retirement for the Mukherjis has been busy. They maintain a small garden, and he does volunteer work at Hill Haven in Webster and occasionally at the India Community Center. Both Anil and Nina are seasoned travelers and have already visited Australia and about 13 countries in South America, Europe, and Asia. Their most memorable trip so far was a three day journey from Lhasa, Tibet through remote areas of the country to Katmandu and then climbing to the base camp of Mt. Everest at 18000 ft. elevation. Luckily, and rarely no clouds obscured the peak and the magnificent view remains etched in his memory. Another of Anil's favorite trips was to the ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru.
The Mukherjis have 4 grandchildren, 2 grandsons living with daughter Monica and husband in Darien, Ct. and a grandson and granddaughter in Brighton with daughter Keya and her husband. Visiting the grandchildren, tending the garden, volunteering, and planning and embarking on travel adventures keep the Mukherjis well occupied. A soon to be trip to India to visit relatives is already in the works, and who knows what after that?
George A. Brown
