If you’ve read this blog for a while, you’ve probably wondered who was Shelley Krasnow. The short answer is that Mr. Krasnow (who passed away in 1989), through a substantial bequest, established the endowment which allowed the founding of the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study. The slightly longer answer is that Mr. Krasnow was both an inventor and a very successful land developer here in the National Capital Region who came to understand the importance of trans-disciplinary scientific resesarch.
As I understand it, Mr. Krasnow’s major invention was a particularly quiet electrical generator that had great applicability to the silent operation of submarines. However he was very interested in biomedical research and the Institute’s focus on understanding the biological basis of “mind” would have fit in squarely with his own areas of intellectual curiosity.
Shelley Krasnow also invested early and often in land surrounding the Washington D.C. beltway–he was ahead of his time in realizing that it would become one of the key growth areas of the country. It was the proceeds from these major landholdings that made possible the Institute that bears his name today.
All of us at Krasnow owe Shelley Krasnow gratitude for the foresight he showed in providing the gift of resources that made possible our scientific work.
Jim
Discoverers and Discoveries 
Ms Goodrich: thank you for your interesting comment. Please don't hesitate to contact me directly if you would like more information about the Institute that carries his name today.
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Mr. Krasnow was a good friend of my father's/father's family — and he and his wife, Alice, were also former next-door neighbors of theirs, back in the 1930s-40s. I recall my father and Mr. Krasnow having many discussions by phone and in personal visits to each other's homes (during the 1970s-80s) that centered around solving the problems of the day, from alternative medicine approaches (hypobaric chambers) to violations of constitutional freedoms, and they collaborated on projects to solve these various problems. Mr. Krasnow was definitely a man ahead of his time, very kind and gentle, and what I consider to be a genuine Renaissance man.
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