A Prizeworthy Groton Coincidence

Who would have guessed that when John Goodenough '40 recently received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, another Grotonian would have been on hand to help out?

 

Chris Dorn '82, a U.S. Foreign Service officer, has been assigned to posts in Moscow and Vladivostok in Russia; Baghdad, Iraq; Managua, Nicaragua; and Washington DC. His current assignment? The U.S. Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden—home of the Nobel Foundation. 

 

Laureates from the U.S. were invited to a reception at the U.S. Embassy, hosted by the U.S. ambassador. "When I heard a Grotonian was among the laureates, I asked to be added as one of his escorts," said Mr. Dorn. "I still can’t believe a Grotonian won the Nobel in the same year that another Grotonian was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm. I know there are other Grotonians scattered around the Foreign Service, but it is rare to get a posting to Stockholm." 

 

Professor Goodenough, 97, is the oldest person ever to receive a Nobel Prize. While he graduated four decades before Mr. Dorn and tells firsthand stories about school founder Endicott Peabody, the two Grotonians walked the same Circle and share the bond of a Groton education.

"What an honor!" said Mr. Dorn. "Two Grotonians crossing paths at a very unique occasion. I made sure to wear my school tie and cuff links!"