Cradles of Chemistry

These universities, buildings, laboratories, and collections have been recognized for their special role in nurturing chemistry and preserving its legacy for future generations.

Chandler Chemistry Laboratory

The Chandler Chemistry Laboratory at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was the first in the United States built specifically to train industrial chemists. It was completed in 1885 and won the building design prize at the 1889 Paris International Exposition. Designed by chemistry professor William Chandler, it revolutionized chemical training and defined the 20th century laboratory experience.

Edgar Fahs Smith Memorial Collection

The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia acquired Edgar Fahs Smith's extensive collection of chemistry memorabilia in 1931. Smith was a professor and administrator at the university for more than 40 years. Highlights of his collection include Renaissance manuscripts on alchemy; centuries-old recipes for paints, varnishes, perfumes, cosmetics, and alcoholic beverages; and rare letters from Joseph Priestley. (Read more)

Gilman Hall

Gilman Hall opened in 1917 as the home of the chemistry department at the University of California, Berkeley. Named for Daniel Gilman, president of the university from 1872 to 1875, it was built under the direction of the illustrious chemist G. N. Lewis. Six Nobel Prize winners studied at Gilman Hall, including William Giauque, who was recognized in 1949 for his work with extremely low temperatures; Glenn Seaborg and Edwin McMillan, who shared the 1951 award for their work with transuranium elements; and William Libby, who built one of the first Geiger counters and received the 1960 award for carbon-14 dating. (Read more)

Havemeyer Hall

Located at Columbia University in New York City, Havemeyer Hall is an architectural masterpiece and center for the study of chemistry that has also served as a set for Ghostbusters and other hit movies. Completed in 1888, it is named for Frederick Havemeyer, a Columbia graduate whose son provided the funds to build it. The building's illustrious tenants include Harold Urey, who received the 1934 Nobel Prize in chemistry for discovering deuterium (heavy hydrogen). (Read more)

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Scientists realized the alchemists' ancient dream of transforming elements when they created technetium in 1937 from material made at what is today the E. O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. The facility is named for Ernest Lawrence, who built the cyclotron that made the historic breakthrough possible. Between 1949 and 1999, Berkeley scientists synthesized more than a dozen elements beyond curium (number 96) on the periodic table, including berkelium (number 97) through seaborgium (number 106).

Riverside Laboratory

Riverside Laboratory at UOP in McCook, Illinois, was created in 1921 by Universal Oil Products. The company was started by inventor Jesse Dubbs and his son C. P. — short for Carbon Petroleum. Riverside researchers focus on petroleum-related projects with commercial applications. Between 1921 and 1955, their breakthroughs resulted in nearly 9,000 patents.

Rockefeller University

John D. Rockefeller, the legendary oil magnate and philanthropist, founded the institution that bears his name in 1901 after his grandson died from scarlet fever. Located in New York City, it is renowned for research on proteins and nucleic acids — the chemistry of life itself. Five Rockefeller scientists have received the Nobel Prize in chemistry: John Northrop and Wendell Stanley, recognized in 1946 for their work with enzymes and proteins; William Stein and Stanford Moore, recognized in 1972 for their insights into ribonuclease structure and activity; and Bruce Merrifield, recognized in 1984 for developing a groundbreaking way to synthesize peptides and proteins. (Read more)

Williams-Miles History of Chemistry Collection

Housed at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, this collection was created by two good friends: Wyndam Miles, a science historian for the National Institutes of Health, and William Williams, a chemistry professor at the university. The collection contains some works from the 1600s, but it is richer in later works. Highlights include 19th century chemistry textbooks and a 1945 account of the development of the atomic bomb.

Polymer Research Institute

Founded in 1946 by Herman Mark, one of the pioneers in the study of giant molecules, the Polymer Research Institute was the first facility in the United States devoted to the study and teaching of polymer science. Located at Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, New York, PRI was the inspiration for the creation of numerous other polymer programs at universities and in industry. Scientists associated with the Institute contributed greatly to the growth of what has become a vital branch of chemistry, engineering, and materials science. (Read more)

Chemical Abstracts Service

The Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), a division of the American Chemical Society, provides the most comprehensive repository of research in chemistry and related sciences. The CAS databases contain invaluable information for chemists, including the largest collection of substance information, the CAS RegistrySM. CAS offers this information to researchers through innovative search tools such as SciFinder® and STN®.

Chemical Abstracts™ was founded in 1907 to enhance the credit American chemists received for their work. For much of its history CAS was housed on the campus of The Ohio State University, moving to its own nearby facility in 1965. (Read more)