These were costly additions, but necessary for the students to learn what is current in the field. While new instrumentation is necessary, it takes up space on the lab bench, so there is less bench space where the student can work. The labs were designed at a time when the growth of the College and the need for these instruments could not be foreseen. Reflecting on his long and prodigious career, Dr. Byrnes sums it up in this way. Today there can be a perception that anything that is chemical is bad and that everything natural is good.
Some people misunderstand.
Not everything natural is good. And chemicals can be very good things. I am proud that I worked on the practical side of chemistry. After all, chemistry is not just something to be studied for its own sake. It is useful.