Janusz Pawliszyn obtained a B.Sc. in Engineering in 1977 and an M.S. in Organic Chemistry in 1978 from the Technical University of Gdansk, and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1982. Janusz spent two years in a postdoctoral position in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toronto and four years as an assistant professor at Utah State before joining the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario.
From 1987 to 2000 he has received over $2,000,000 in research grants to support his work, and 45 students have received their M.S. or Ph.D. working under his direction. Visiting scientists from many countries have come to work in his lab.
Dr. Pawliszyn has received a number of honors and awards, including the McBryde Medal (1995), the Tswett Medal (1996), the Hyphenated Techniques in Chromatography Award (1996), the Caledon Award (1996), the Jubilee Medal (1998) from the Chromatographic Society, U.K., and the 2000 Maxxam Award (CSC). He presently holds the Supelco-Varian-NSERC Industrial Research Chair in New Analytical Methods and Technologies. Janusz has received six patents to date.
"... 18 years ago [at my commencement] I did not know how I could help to make the world a better place. However, I did know that I could use the opportunities that came my way. This attitude enabled me to build the fundamentals behind non-polluting analytical processes and invent the device now called "solid phase microextraction" (SPME), a device the size of a pen... " Today, SPME is used worldwide for a range of analytical applications from basic research in flavor and fragrance to continuous monitoring of drinking water quality, and the discovery has been developed into a successful multi-million dollar a year product commercialized by Supelco and Varian. "Goals must be built and pursued vigorously, but not with a narrowness of vision, such that new thoughts and directions are discarded simply for being simple, unexpected or unconventional. How dull life would be without the unexpected; accept and embrace random opportunities." (Commencement Address, May 13, 2000)
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Last updated: 19-May-00 / lsm