Past Recipients of the Pittcon Heritage Award

After completing an M.D. at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a Ph.D. in biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology, Hood began his professional career at the California Institute of Technology. There he and his colleagues pioneered four of the five instruments mentioned above. In the late 1980s Hood realized that to really understand immunology would require a systems approach, and he began thinking about systems biology.

In 1992 Hood moved to the University of Washington as founder and chairman of the Department of Molecular Biotechnology, where he developed the ink-jet oligonucleotide synthesizer, which synthesizes DNA chips, and initiated systems studies on cancer biology and prion disease. In 2000 Hood cofounded the Institute for Systems Biology, a nonprofit research institute established to pioneer systems approaches to biology and medicine, and continues to serve as its president.

The many awards and honors Hood has received include the Lasker Prize, the Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology, the Lemelson–MIT Prize for Innovation and Invention, and the Biotechnology Heritage Award. In 2007 Hood was elected to the Inventors Hall of Fame. He has received 14 honorary degrees, published more than 600 peer-reviewed papers, received 14 patents, and coauthored textbooks in biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology, and genetics. In addition he coauthored, with Dan Keveles, The Code of Codes, a popular book on the human genome project.

One of only seven scientists elected to three National Academies (the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Academy of Engineering), Hood is also a member of the American Philosophical Society and the American Association of Arts and Sciences. He has played a role in founding more than 14 biotechnology companies, including Amgen, Applied Biosystems, Systemix, Darwin, and Rosetta Inpharmatics.

David Schwartz, 2007
David Schwartz, chairman of the Board of Bio-Rad Laboratories, is the quintessential entrepreneur and visionary: he doesn't see risks, he sees opportunities. Schwartz and his wife, Alice, cofounded Bio-Rad in 1952. Under his guidance, the company evolved into a global enterprise, manufacturing and distributing a broad range of products for the life science research and clinical diagnostics markets.

Bio-Rad is internationally renowned among hospitals, universities, and major research institutions, as well as biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. It serves more than 85,000 research and industry customers through its global network of operations. Bio-Rad employs over 5,000 people and has grown to more than $1 billion in revenues.

Schwartz grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to attend college after serving in World War II as part of the Army Signal Corps. The Schwartzes first met in a class at the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a degree in chemistry and she earned a degree in biochemistry. The idea that would launch Bio-Rad came about during a student bridge game in early 1952. The Schwartzes joked about products that should be available but weren't on the market, such as tobacco mosaic virus, which Alice was using for scientific research and which required many days to prepare. The following day, the Schwartzes searched their Berkeley neighborhood for a site to launch a company that would provide products and tools to researchers. They soon discovered that the world was not eagerly awaiting tobacco mosaic virus, but developed other more marketable research products that resulted in the company's survival and growth.

Schwartz was named a finalist for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2003 and the organization presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award that same year. Schwartz has cofounded and served on the board of several companies, but his primary focus over the years has been fostering the growth of Bio-Rad.

Building on this success, in 1954 he began the development of infrared gas analyzers. Applying this technology to the analysis of automobile exhaust gases, the scale and scope of the company rapidly expanded. As one of the top manufacturers of analytical instruments, HORIBA, Ltd., has continued to lead the industry through the years with innovative advances in technology.

Horiba served as chairman of the company from 1978 to 2005, guiding its continuing expansion into new areas of instrumentation and technology. While chairman, he received several awards from the Japanese government and a national Blue Ribbon Medal. In 2005 he retired from the board of directors and assumed the position of supreme counsel. Horiba continues to play a highly active role in Kyoto's start-up business community. As a special advisor to the Advanced Software Technology and Mechatronics Research Institute of Kyoto (ASTEM), one of the largest start-up incubator organizations in Japan, he has worked particularly hard to help entrepreneurs build strong, new companies. Since the establishment of the Japan Association of New Business Incubation Organization (JANBO) in 1999, he has served as a representative in this nationwide network for the support of new businesses in Japan.

Allington started Isco in his garage in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1958, and grew it into a $60-million-plus global enterprise with approximately 380 employees. He served as its CEO from 1961 until 2004, when Isco merged with Teledyne Technologies.

Allington received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering, with a de facto minor in chemistry, from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln (UNL). In 1985, UNL awarded him a doctorate in chemistry. He was named the 1985 National Small Business Person of the year by the U.S. Small Business Administration and the 1991 Research and Development Executive of the Year by R&D Magazine.

He served on the boards of the Lincoln Foundation, Nebraska Polio Survivors Association, and League of Human Dignity, and on the Chemistry Industrial Advisory Board of UNL and the Lincoln City–Lancaster County Planning Commission. He also served on the board of the Nebraska Research and Development Authority and was chairman of the Nebraska EPSCoR board.

Wilks pioneered the commercial development of IR-absorption cells and the commercial applications of attenuated total reflection, one of the most widely used sampling methods today. He also played a lead role in the evolution of gas chromatography (GC) IR: his light-pipe modification of the Perkin-Elmer 137 IR resulted in the first IR spectrophotometer dedicated to doing GC-IR work. Wilks also recognized the importance of circular variable filters, which he used at Wilks Enterprises to create a series of small, portable gas analyzers adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to monitor toxic gases in the workplace.

As an active member of the instrument community, Wilks helped found the Coblentz Society in 1954, which honored him with the Williams-Wright Award in 1981. He has been an exhibitor at every Pittcon conference since the first meeting in 1950.

CHF gratefully acknowledges Varian for its support of the 2004 Pittcon Heritage Award and associated heritage activities.

Kathryn Hach-Darrow, 2003
Kathryn Hach-Darrow was president, chief operating officer, and CEO of the Hach Company, a global public firm focused on water analysis and testing that she and her husband founded in 1947. Until the firm’s sale in 1999, she oversaw business operations, marketing, and other managerial aspects of the company.

Hach products have enabled municipal water suppliers around the world to assure the quality of drinking water, monitor sewage treatment, and improve water reclamation. In 1987 the Hach Company was elected "Best Company" in northeastern Colorado.

Hach-Darrow is legendary in her field for flying a small, private plane to cities and towns around the country to work on-site with managers of water-treatment facilities. She has been awarded several honors including the American Water Works Association's George Fuller Award (with her husband) and an Outstanding Business Leaders Award from Northwood University. Hach-Darrow was the first woman director of the American Water Works Association and in 2000 was voted a member of the Colorado Business Hall of Fame. In 1982 the Hachs established the Hach Scientific Foundation to support science education by sponsoring student tuition and teacher education.

The 2003 Pittcon Heritage Award was sponsored by the Hach Company. CHF is grateful to the Hach Company, Thermo Finnigan, Thermo Nicolet Corporation, and the Waters Corporation for underwriting CHF’s participation in Pittcon 2003.