150th Chemistry

Jim Breen has been the campus’s glassblower for 18 years. (UC Berkeley video by Roxanne Makasdjian and Stephen McNally)

To find Room B63 in the nondescript, industrial basement of UC Berkeley’s Hildebrand Hall, it’s best to follow your ears. On a recent afternoon, the Troggs’ 1966 rock hit “Wild Thing” led the way. But once inside the door, don’t expect a party, despite the non-stop music and abundant glassware.

This is the College of Chemistry’s Glass Shop, the busy workspace of scientific glassblower Jim Breen. For the past 16 years, the highly-skilled artisan has...

Isadore Perlman (left) with associate and Frank Asaro (right), taken January 15, 1964 at Berkeley Lab. Photographer: Donald Cooksey

By Frank Asaro, Joseph Cerny, Samuel S. Markowitz, John O. Rasmussen, and Glenn T. Seaborg

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David lyon, his wife Dorothy Lyon, and Clayton Heathcock. Photo: College of Chemistry.

David Nathaniel Lyon died December 10, 2008. He was living with his second wife, Dorothy, in a...

By J.H. Hildebrand, S.C. Pepper, and T.D. Stewart

Ermon Dwight Eastman, Professor of Chemistry, was born in Marysville, California, November 30, 1891. He attended the Marysville schools through the lower grades and graduated from high school after a final year in the Fremont High School, Oakland. He entered the College of...