The Tripod

A gift valued at over $500,000 from the late Lewis S. Keyes '58 has been given to Trinity College in order to establish two endowed funds to support the College's Chemistry Department.

Keyes was a chemistry major who received both his B.S. and Master of Science degrees from Trinity. He then worked on doctoral study at Princeton University before joining the Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. in 1964. He taught chemistry and served as assistant chair of the chemistry and biochemistry department from 1972 to 1980 and as chief departmental advisor from 1972 to 1983 until his retirement in 1999. Keyes was admired for his role in modernizing the physical chemistry laboratory at Old Dominion. He passed away in January of last year.

The first fund, the Lewis S. Keyes Scholarship Fund, will be used to "provide tuition assistance to students of the College, with preference given to chemistry majors," according to Trinity's Web site.

The second fund, the Lewis S. Keyes Fund, will be used for chemistry laboratory equipment, including major apparatus such as a new mass spectrometer. The College's Chemistry Department currently has three mass spectrometers, which measure the masses and relative concentrations of atoms and molecules, valued between $60,000 and $250,000 each.

This marks another beneficial donation to the Chemistry Department; In 2007 the National Science Foundation gave Trinity a grant to purchase a $300,000 nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer.

In a recent press release on Trinity's Web site, retired Trinity Chemistry Professor Ed Bobko spoke of how Keyes was an incredibly serious student while taking his organic chemistry class.. As to the present equipment used by the department, Bobko noted that "I remember what a big thrill it was when we installed our first infrared spectrometer.  Of course, we wouldn't let the students use the equipment back then - they had to come to one of us.  Today, the students run the spectrometers on a daily basis."

Chemistry Professor and Department Chair Tim Curran believes that these new funds will prove beneficial to the Trinity science community. "Potential employers ask candidates about their experience and knowledge of the instruments used in industry, and Trinity graduates come with this experience and knowledge. The gift from the estate of Dr. Keyes will help ensure that Trinity students continue to have this advantage," noted Curran.

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