Harvard's Fieser Laboratory Honors Legacy Of Husband-And-Wife Team

Abstract

When Harvard University chemistry students filed back to class for the start of this year's spring semester, they found a new state-of-the-art laboratory at their disposal. The Louis & Mary Fieser Laboratory for Undergraduate Organic Chemistry honors the rich legacy of a husband-and-wife team who made some of this century's most significant contributions to organic chemistry and chemistry education. Moreover, the lab is a tribute to the Fiesers' status as revered figures among Harvard chemistry students past and present—a glamorous couple whose zest for life matched their devotion to teaching, research, and writing. Louis Fieser died in 1977 at age 78. But Mary Fieser continues the couple's reputation for style and warmth, moving with ease among a new generation of students in the lab, still radiating an inspiring sense of curiosity and wonder that has long propelled her own scientific career. On a recent afternoon in the lab, she paused for a break from the ...