Ron Amey ’74 knew from a young age that he wanted to be a chemist. It brought him awards, a National Merit scholarship, research at Lehigh, and a career at DuPont. Now, the Ameys have created an endowment supporting summer undergraduate chemistry.
It’s a cold Christmas morning in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Ron Amey ’74 is working alongside his mother as she puts the finishing touches on a roasted turkey with all the trimmings.
Amey is about to place a teaspoon of sulfur over an alcohol burner lamp included in the Gilbert chemistry set he opened that morning.
The yellow powder transforms into a deep orange liquid. As the liquid ignites, it burns with a beautiful blue flame. The 12-year-old Amey is transfixed.
A colorless, suffocating gas overpowers the delicious holiday aromas, and for half an hour the family stands outside in the frigid air with the kitchen windows flung open.
While his parents begrudgingly accept that their gift has disrupted part of the day, Amey is completely hooked and soon reigns supreme over a chemistry lab in the basement.
Spotlight Recipient