Lillian A. Rankel ’78

Lillian A. Rankel received her Ph.D. in chemistry in 1978 and worked in catalysis research for Mobil Oil for 17 years. Following a mid-career move to education, she taught high school AP and honors chemistry and became interested in making lab chemistry accessible for blind and low vision students. Feeling strongly that young, visually-impaired children need to be introduced to science, she wrote two books about fun science activities, “Out-of-Sight Science Experiments” for 2^nd-5^th graders and “Hands On Science Activities” for pre-K to 2^nd grades, both published by National Braille Press (www.nbp.org). In 2007, with a Kenyan colleague, she initiated high school trips to Kenya, leading to ongoing programs to assist a village in western Kenya, and to help grow a small school for the blind in Kiomiti to accommodate the many visually-impaired students in the area who had been  unable to attend. The experience of working with these young children led to the writing of four children’s books telling how low vision or blind children can contribute to their families by fetching water, digging potatoes, and doing household jobs while attending school. These books have given hope to many poor families that their children could go to school and become independent adults. The books, “Friendship Tea”, “All in a Day’s Work”, “Church Bells Ringing” and “Heaven Send Rain” are sold on Amazon.