The "Comrades of the Quest" issue was graced by an iconic cover photo from Reed's earliest days. Whenever I look at this photo, I imagine that I see President Foster up to his knees in dandelions while he grabs his head and thinks, "Oh dear. Oh dear. Where can I hide those stinky chemistry labs?" (No doubt he would have spelled this differently.)
Once you get inside the Reed magazine, however, you might look for some of these news items about Reed chemists …
Letters to Reed included a photo of the four students who represented Reed on the popular Sunday evening TV game show, College Bowl, in 1960. Among the four was Virginia (Oglesby) Hancock ’62. One surmises that Ginny was responsible for dealing with all questions pertaining to science and music. Here are two photos of Ginny from the June 2012 issue. The second photo was taken at the recent groundbreaking ceremony for the new performing arts building.
Yet another photographer caught senior Paul Whittredge ’12 (right) moments before he and classmate Jack Flowers ’15 (left) set out on the two mile run during which Paul would shatter Reed's long-standing record. One of those watching Paul fly around the track described him as “an angular blur of determination”. 
Professors’ Corner highlighted several Reed faculty who have won research grants or received academic honors. Among them was Prof. Alan Shusterman [1989-] who was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for his contributions in computational chemistry and chemical education … Our Brilliant Students provided details about a public service project designed by seniors Gabe Butterfield ’12 and Michael Gonzales ’12. Their project will assist doctors treating diarrheal diseases in Djibouti. The two seniors will test samples for the presence of two common pathogens, shigella and salmonella, and determine the level of antibiotic resistance displayed by the pathogens … Jump-Starting Careers described the first “Working Weekend” event which brought alumni entrepreneurs back to campus to help students and recent graduates get a jump on internships, contacts, and careers. The idea for Working Weekend began as the brainchild of Adam Riggs ’95 and brought together alumni from several disciplines including chemists Luke Kanies ’96 and Chantal Sudbrack ‘97. Reediana described a new book co-edited by Jeffrey Kovac '70. The book, Roald Hoffmann on the Philosophy, Art, and Science of Chemistry, collects 28 essays by the Nobel laureate. Hoffmann was recently in Portland to receive the 2012 Linus Pauling Legacy Award and present a public lecture titled, "Indigo – A Story of Craft, Religion, History, Science, and Culture." Several Reed students and faculty attended the lecture (some students even collected Dr. Hoffmann's autograph).
The Class Notes section updated us on several chemistry alumni … the wedding of Bonnie Cuthbert '10 and Alex Moran '12 on July 6, 2011 received two separate mentions, once in Class Notes 1973 — Bonnie's proud father, Richard Cuthbert '73, and the hostess of the wedding, Jillian Barron '73, were classmates at Reed — and again in Class Notes 2010 where one can find a photo of the wedding party … Chemist Dana Loutey '12 belongs to another two-generation Reed family. Dana's mother, Katie Cooper '77 is a member of that very special breed of Reed parents who have attended Renn Fayre both as a student/recent alum (back in 1980) and again as a parent (in 2012) … Chantal Sudbrack '97 played host to David Perry '73 in her new home in Cleveland … Dan Gamelin '90 was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science … and Leo MacDonald '97 reported on his new occupation as a high school chemistry teacher in New Hope, PA. He says, "I absolutely love my career change."
In Memoriam reflected on the lives of three Reed chemists who were practically classmates, all graduating in the narrow span between 1946 and 1950. Alfred David Fell '46 [d. Dec. 2011 in Scottsdale, Arizona] emigrated by himself to the U.S. from Austria in 1923. He eventually reunited with his family in Portland and attended Reed, as did his sister, Alice Fell Rene '53. Alfred earned a BA in chemistry at Reed and then completed an MD at U. Oregon. He performed active duty in the Air Force during the Korean War. Afterwards, he and his family settled in Marina Del Rey, California, where he specialized in cardiology and internal medicine.
Alva Ray Huckins '48 [d. Nov. 2011 in Ojai, California] also followed the path that led from Reed chemistry to U. Oregon MD to southern California doctor. Ray grew up in Portland and began working odd jobs in order to attend Reed, but WWII intervened in his junior year and he found himself assigned to several medical roles. While serving in the South Pacific he developed a new, lifesaving procedure for quick blood typing, and later on helped establish a research station on Guam for the study of tropical diseases. After earning an MS in physiology and an MD at U. Oregon, Ray settled with his wife in Ojai, California and established himself as a family physician. Eventually he would head the Ventura County Medical Society and serve (in addition to other posts) as mayor of Ojai.
Lewis Frederick Leber '50 [d. Jan. 2012 in Seattle, Washington] came from a Reed family: his older brothers Bruce (Reed '48) and Ted (Reed '44) both graduated from Reed. Lewis and his brothers worked at their father's company in Seattle, but when WWII came along, teen-aged Lewis found himself replacing workers on the manufacturing line who had been called into service. He learned to run roller mills, grind ink, and make paint for use as camouflage. His practical training were a good match for his chemistry studies at Reed for he was placed in the chemical corps during the Korean War (and won a commendation ribbon), and then had a 58-year career with the Leber Ink Company (Tukwila, Washington) afterwards. He married a classmate, Mary Jean Piper '50, and settled on Mercer Island near Seattle, but also bought land in eastern Washington for a vineyard. "We planted the first vineyard of vinifera grapes in the state of Washington. We didn't make lots of money, but we became the foundation of the Columbia Winery."