A seasoned scientist, Dr. Frank K. Schweighardt has obtained more than 35 U.S. and foreign patents.
ALLENTOWN, PA, December 03, 2019 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Frank K. Schweighardt, Ph.D., with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Dr. Schweighardt celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Shortly after retiring from a successful career with Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. in Trexlertown, PA, Dr. Schweighardt became a volunteer with the Da Vinci Science Center in 2006. A non-profit science center founded in 1992, serving pre-K to high school students with hands-on science exhibits, interactive programs and local company partnership efforts in STEM subjects. He later worked for the aforementioned Science Center as the interim chief executive officer between 2008 and 2009 and as the Board Chairman from 2010 to 2014. Remaining active as a trustee since 2009, Dr. Schweighardt was notably responsible for establishing the Da Vinci Science Center's Inventors Lab, where students 4th to 8th graders have received 7 US Patents.
During his tenure with Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Dr. Schweighardt found success as a senior research chemist, the Manager/Director of process analytical chemistry worldwide and a lecturer for its speakers' bureau. Having established a new line of ultra-pure perfluoro-chemicals for use in laboratories and medical R&D applications, he flourished as a chemist for more than four decades. Previously, he held the posts of a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow and chemist at the U.S. Bureau of Mines, a chemist at the Allegheny County Morgue in Pittsburgh and the assistant dean of research at the Duquesne University in the school of pharmacy. Throughout his career, Dr. Schweighardt consulted for various organizations and startup firms for specialty gas applications in the USA, Mexico, throughout South America and Asia.
A seasoned scientist, Dr. Schweighardt has obtained more than 35 U.S. and foreign patents. Best known for his team's development of high purity CO2 for supercritical extraction, research in coal liquefaction, technologies that he created for eye surgeons, which included fluid that enabled the eye to float in place due to density; this development enabled eye surgeons to stand upright while performing surgery, as doctors previously had to lie on their backs with the patient facing downward. His exemplary research also included the contribution of more than 125 of articles in professional journals. Dr. Schweighardt has participated for more than 25 years as a student mentor and judge for local and state science fairs. He provides presentations to schools and at retirement homes on topics such as the North Pole (Russian Nuclear Ice Breaker-the Yamal) and the Galapagos Islands where he and his wife, Yvonne, have visited.
A civic leader for many years, Dr. Schweighardt has participated on the board of directors of the Lehigh Valley March of Dimes in Allentown from 1987 to 1997, for which he was the chairman of the health professional committee. He has thrived as a science fair mentor for the Allentown Public Schools. He notably earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry at Seton Hall University in 1966, followed by a Doctor of Philosophy in molecular biophysics at Duquesne University (1970). Likewise, Dr. Schweighardt holds a certificate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management of Technology.
A member and the former chairman for the International Forum of Process Analytical Chemistry, Dr. Schweighardt has been affiliated with the American Chemical Society (more than 50 years-Emeritus Member) as a former member of the board of directors of the fuel division. He is also associated with the Pennsylvania Academy of Science, and Sigma Xi, (CMU/Lehigh University). Dr. Schweighardt is an emeritus member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and current member of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the Society of Applied Spectroscopy.
For his contributions to the Da Vinci Science Center, he was presented with a 20l4 Spirit of Verrocchio Mentorship Award, which is one of their most prestigious Hall of Fame Awards, and he was awarded in 2018 their Life-Time Achievement Award. A celebrated Marquis listee, Dr. Schweighardt has been featured in Who 's Who in Science and Engineering, Who's Who in the East and Who's Who in the World.
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