Paleoecologist Grace Brush, professor emeritus, is known for her work on the pre- and post-Colonial ecology of the Chesapeake Bay. Her groundbreaking studies have helped scientists and geographers better understand how the clearing of forests surrounding the bay in the 18th century impacted the ecosystem.
She earned the Student Council’s George E. Owen Teaching Award for outstanding teaching and devotion to undergraduates, Maryland Sea Grant’s Mathias Medal for scientific research benefiting the Chesapeake Bay region, and the Estuarine Research Foundation’s Odum Life Achievement Award.
In 1951, Brush received an MS in botany from the University of Illinois, and in 1956, she received a PhD paleobotany from Harvard University.