Despite being under a tornado watch all afternoon (thankfully, none appeared!), Graduation Day, 2008 went off without a hitch. While it did rain, it never rained when rain would have presented a logistical problem. Our 1:30 PM CHEM/BIOC Graduation Convocation ceremony in the Pearson Hall Auditorium attracted almost 400 proud parents, relatives and friends of the 2008 CHEM/BIOC graduating class, whose spirits were anything but damp. Nineteen members of the CHEM/BIOC faculty joined in the adulation.

Virtually all of the 50 baccalaureate degree recipients (17 BS/CHEM, 25 BS/BIOC [2 with Honors and Distinction, one of whom, Patrick Knerr, was only the second 4.000 graduate of our Department since 1987; 3 with Distinction], 7 BA/CHEM, 1 BA/CHEM/ED) participated, as did a goodly number of the 30 advanced degree recipients (22 Ph.D, 3 M.S., 5 M.A.).

As has become traditional, our speaker was one of our most illustrious alumni: Prof. Lawrence Principe’, Drew Professor of the Humanities in the Departments of Chemistry and the History of Science and Technology at Johns Hopkins University. Larry graduated from the University of Delaware in 1983, Magna Cum Laude, with an Honors B.S. in Chemistry and an Honors B.A. in Liberal Studies. His address was at times erudite and, at times, intensely personal, albeit always inspiring and memorable.

Following the ceremony, the throng moved to the lobby of the newly renovated Brown Laboratory for the traditional post-graduation reception, which our Department has held every year since 1971.