In recognition of the Clifford S. and Ruth A. Mead Memorial Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory’s demolition in November 2021 to make way for the Resnick Sustainability Center building project, alumni were asked: What are your fondest memories of Mead and/or your undergraduate chemistry classes there?

As a chemistry major and a TA for Ch 3 and 4 … I must have run those old 90 MHz NMRs hundreds of times and logged my runs in the old lab notebooks assigned to each instrument. A few years ago, I got to drop by the lab and snap a few photos of the old log books with my entries and those of a few old classmates. … I really enjoyed my time in the lab: there was a certain camaraderie and friendly competition there. One time we got to run Prof. Grubbs’ metathesis reaction to make little polymer sculptures. That stuff was absolutely indestructible!—Matt Gregori (BS ’99) San Juan Capistrano, CA

Within the first half-hour of my first time in the freshman Chem 3 lab, I broke a test tube. At the time, it felt like a Caltech rite of passage. Looking back, it may have been an omen that “wet lab” science was not my calling. —Sean McKenna (BS ’17) Toronto, Ontario

John Bercaw happening to walk by and witness me accidentally punching a hole through my flask with a glass rod.—Erick Co (BS ’95) Hacienda Heights, CA

Mead Building housed the undergraduate student introductory chemistry laboratory, which had an MR spectral analyzer. It was run by a superbly kind and lovely lady. Although I remember it pained me to do laboratory chemistry since I was no good at it, she and others like her at Caltech (professors, postdocs, TA’s, fellow students, staff) taught me to seek and do truth, and nothing less.—Hsiu-Hsien (Tom) Ling (BS ’89) City of Industry, CA

The first day of Ch 3 a, we were each given a list of equipment and tasked with ensuring our assigned drawers had everything. Many of us had no idea what a lot of the equipment was or what it was called. (“There’s something called a ‘cow’?”)—Theron Stanford (BS ’87) Jersey, Channel Islands

I’m getting old. Things that weren’t there when I was there aren’t there now.—David Turner (BS ’61) Los Gatos, CA

Spilling the filter paper of Crac-Ac precipitate and having to sweep it up off the counter-top... my lab-partner was not happy with me at all! My TA let me pass the class if I wrote an essay about what I’d learned in chem lab, whew!—Bruce Prickett (BS ’82) Astoria, OR

Endnotes: Memories of Mead