The Amy-Mellon lectureship was established by the analytical faculty to assist their students in perceiving the origins of their subject through personal encounters with some of its pioneers.

    The lecture is named after two individuals whose vision has contributed significantly to the success and growth of the science of analytical chemistry at Purdue University and throughout the world. Jon Amy and Guy Mellon have both made particular contributions to the development of instrumentation as a focal point for modern chemistry.

    Melvin Guy Mellon was born in 1893 in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Allegheny College. He served on the Purdue faculty from the time his Ph.D. graduation from Ohio State University in 1919 until his retirement in 1962. He then spent an active retirement planning and supervising the construction of the East Chemistry building, and writing, especially on the chemical literature. Among many other awards, Prof. Mellon was awarded honorary doctorates from Allegheny College, Mount Union College, and Purdue University. He passed away in 1993.

        Jonathon W. Amy grew up in Delaware, Ohio where his father was head of the English Department at Ohio Wesleyan University. He spent the war years in the Mediterranean and the Far East acquiring a taste for sailing and for electronics. He took a Ph.D. at Purdue University working on spectroscopy with Walter Edgell in 1955 and stayed to direct the department’s Instrumentation Facility. Prof. Amy has worked with manufacturers such as Fisher, Aerograph, Varian, Hewlett-Packard, Perkin-Elmer, Galileo, IBM, and Finnigan MAT in perfecting instrumentation. He has made contributions to mass spectrometry, electron spectroscopy, chromatography,and nuclear magnetic resonance. He has been a problem solver par excellence, whether the problem was one of local fire service or the future direction of scientific research in the U.S. Prof. Amy has been recognized by the American Chemical Society through its Chemical Instrumentation Award as well as locally through the George Award for outstanding service to the community.

Past Amy-Mellon Lecturers