York University Professor Emeritus Barry Lever, a leader in the field of inorganic chemistry, has passed away at the age of 88.
Lever joined York’s Department of Chemistry in 1967 as an associate professor before going on to become a full professor, then a Distinguished Research Professor and, finally, a Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus.
During his career, he explored inorganic electrochemistry using spectroscopic and computational methods through – among other outlets – around 300 articles. Among his many contributions was discovering what are now known as the Lever parameters, an important concept in his field that offers electrochemical parameters in co-ordination compounds that are used to study inorganic electrochemistry, enzymatic reactions, catalysis, etc.
Lever’s influence also extended to students, not just with his passion for mentoring students at York University but through a textbook – something he called one of his proudest achievements – titled Inorganic Electronic Spectroscopy, which many consider a foundational learning text in the field.
Lever was also the founding editor of the journal Coordination Chemistry Reviews (Elsevier) in 1966 and the founder of the Inorganic Discussion Weekend conference, both of which contributed significantly to the growth of the field of inorganic chemistry in Canada and beyond.
Among his many awards and accolades, Lever was recognized as a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He also received the Gerhard Herzberg Award from the Spectroscopy Society of Canada in 1996 and the E.W.R. Steacie Award from the Canadian Society for Chemistry in 2014 for his lasting contributions to chemistry.