The Dedication of the Benjamin W. Hill-Lam ’13 Observatory
By Bowdoin NewsDespite a foggy and rainy evening for it, the dedication of the Benjamin W. Hill-Lam ’13 Observatory showcased the realization of a clear vision.
The two-part event began in Barry Mills Hall, where more than 170 attendees gathered for a reception and dinner to celebrate the completion of a project that marks the beginning of a new era at Bowdoin.
Before delving into what the observatory is, what it contains, and who it is for, President Safa Zaki recognized the alumnus for whom it is named and the generosity of a loving father.
His father, Seeyan Lam, a pharmacist, public health expert, and researcher with more than thirty years at the FDA, decided to honor his son’s legacy with a gift to the College that covered the costs of construction, renovation, and relocation and an endowment for ongoing maintenance and equipment purchases.
Speaking to Lam, Zaki said that, as a man of science himself, he understands as few do what an observatory actually does. “That it is, at its core, an instrument for asking questions, and for trying to answer them,” she said. “What you have given Bowdoin is a threshold,” Zaki continued. “A place where students can stand at the edge of what is known and feel the pull of what is not. That is, in the deepest sense, what a college is for.”
When it was his turn to speak, Lam expressed his gratitude to President Zaki, the College, and to the wider Bowdoin community, including Ben’s professors, for surrounding his son with academic rigor and support and thanked the many friends in attendance for being on hand for the dedication of the facility that honors Ben.
The process to revitalize the College’s observatory began two years ago when the original structure was carefully relocated from where it had sat unused for more than thirty years on the edge of campus to a fitting new home in the center of the action amid the Pickard Field athletic complex, “an academic beacon among the playing fields,” Zaki said.
Since the move, it has been refurbished inside and out. A new dome is immediately apparent as you approach and inside, as people saw during the tour that was the second part of the event, it has been tricked out with state-of-the art instrumentation including an 80-centimeter telescope, a spectrograph, a long-exposure camera, a classroom just steps away, “and the infrastructure for serious research,” noted Zaki.
Concluding her remarks, Zaki turned once again to the man who made it possible. “On behalf of Bowdoin, See—thank you. Thank you for your generosity. Thank you for your trust in this place. Thank you for giving us a way to honor Ben that will continue in the academic life of the College, in the questions our students and faculty will ask through this telescope. We will take good care of this observatory. We will use it well. And we will remember its story."