Distinguished Professor Gary Keck is retiring at the end of this year. Here at the Department of Chemistry, we can’t overstate our admiration for Gary and his impact on the department and the field of synthetic chemistry.
Gary’s personal contributions to synthetic chemistry are among the top in his field. He shares with Nobel Laureate E.J. Corey at Harvard the distinction of having three named reactions: Keck asymmetric allylation, Keck macrolactonization, and Keck free radical allylation.
On Wednesday, December 9th, Gary gave his last lecture to the Organic Chemistry II class. After words from his colleagues and a standing ovation from students and faculty, a student serenaded Gary and the class with a Merle Haggard song, a perfect end to Gary’s outstanding career at the U.