[1] During her career, Grasselli Brown has striven to bridge the gap between research and practical applications between industry and academia.
She grew up in a Hungarian neighborhood in the Buckeye Road area in Cleveland, Ohio during the Great Depression.
[5] Around 1946, her father opened a business in Elyria, Ohio, making sand cast aluminum parts.
[6] Grasselli Brown graduated from John Adams High School in 1946,[4] and attended Ohio University from 1946 to 1950.
[citation needed] After graduating from Ohio University in 1950, Grasselli Brown was offered a job position at Standard Oil (now BP America) in Cleveland as a project leader.
[10] During her time at Standard Oil, Grasselli Brown used the infrared spectrometer to examine the concentration of materials, and sought to find industrial applications for it.
[11][4] From 1989 to 1995, Grasselli Brown worked as a distinguished visiting professor and director of research enhancement at her alma mater, Ohio University.
[2] Grasselli Brown has over ninety publications, nine books, and a patent in the field of infrared and Raman spectroscopy.
[8] In 2002, Grasselli Brown received the National Ellis Medal of Honor and was selected as an International Scientist of the Year.
"[4] As of 2013, Jeanette Grasselli Brown donated her papers to the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections at her alma mater, Ohio University.
[14] In 2022, a permanent exhibit at the Great Lakes Science Center, entitled "Interactive Periodic Table of Element", was created through a donation by the Northeastern Ohio Science & Engineering Fair, in honor of Dr. Jeanette Grasselli Brown and her husband Dr. Glenn Brown.