Alumni Endowments
Homer C. Weed - B.S. 1942
Homer and Emily Weed Endowment Supports Chemistry Chair and Lecture
In 2007 the Chemistry Department received $1.1 million in endowments from the estate of alumnus Homer Weed and his wife, Emily. It was Emily and Homer’s wish that their estate would provide rewarding and positive growth for many future students at their undergraduate institutions, the University of Arizona for Homer and Vanderbilt for Emily. Their years of saving since their student days will benefit generations of students at these two institutions. Ultimately, endowments are an investment for the future and are more enduring than bricks and mortar.
Homer Clyde Weed was born in 1920 in Sun City, Kansas, and moved to Bisbee, Arizona as a boy when his father found work there in the copper mine during the Depression. Homer graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Arizona, where he lettered in track and was Phi Beta Kappa. Following graduation, Homer worked for Eastman Kodak in Knoxville, Tennessee, and then attended graduate school at the Ohio State University where he received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry.
In 1957 Homer began working for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a Physical Chemist and Geochemist. He made numerous contributions to the Yucca Mountain project before retiring in 1991. Emily had a lifelong interest in floriculture and the study of nutrition and health. Both Emily and Homer were active in local cultural activities and political issues. Homer died on February 12, 2005, and Emily passed away on June 24, 2005.
