Walter Jennings

Walter Jennings has been selected by the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (Pittcon) and the Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) to receive the 2010 Pittcon Heritage Award. The award was presented in Orlando, Florida, on 28 February during Pittcon 2010.

About Walter Jennings
Walter Jennings is professor emeritus at the University of California, Davis, and cofounder of J&W Scientific. His laboratory's efforts in window diagramming, combined with research into stationary phase chemistry, led to the first synthesis of a bonded, crosslinked stationary phase whose selectivity was specifically tailored to maximize the separation factors of all solute pairs in a given mixture. Jennings was also the first to demonstrate computer-generated van Deemter plots and their use in evaluating the effects of column and operational parameters.

In collaboration with one of his doctoral students, Jennings founded J&W Scientific in 1974. J&W grew to become the world’s largest supplier of fused silica columns and was purchased in 1986 by Fisons. In 1996, a management group led by Professor Jennings and backed by the corporate buyout arm of Dillon Reade, Inc., repurchased the company.  In 2000, the company was sold to Agilent Technologies, Inc. for whom Dr. Jennings continues to function as a consultant.

Under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Jennings served as adviser in gas chromatography to the governments of Bulgaria and Poland. He has received many awards, including the Humboldt-Preis award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Founders Award in Gas Chromatography administered by the Beckman Corporation, the M.J.E. Golay Award, the Keene Dimick Award, and the A.J.P. Martin Gold Medal from the Chromatographic Society. Jennings is a past chairman of the American Chemical Society's subdivisions of Flavor Chemistry and Chromatography and Separation Science.

About the Pittcon Heritage Award
The Pittcon Heritage Award is jointly sponsored by the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (Pittcon) and the Chemical Heritage Foundation. This award recognizes outstanding individuals whose entrepreneurial careers shaped the instrumentation and laboratory supplies community, inspired achievement, promoted public understanding of the modern instrumentation sciences, and highlighted the role of analytical chemistry in world economies.

The award is presented annually at a special ceremony during Pittcon. The recipient’s name and achievements are added to a roster of Pittcon Hall of Fame members that includes such industry pioneers as Arnold Beckman, Robert Finnigan, Chester Fisher, Aaron Martin, James Waters, and others.


About the Sponsors
Pittcon is the largest and most inclusive conference and exposition on laboratory science and instrumentation in the world. The annual event brings together more than 30,000 conferees and exhibitors from more than 70 countries.


The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) fosters an understanding of chemistry’s impact on society. An independent nonprofit organization, we strive to

• Inspire a passion for chemistry;
• Highlight chemistry’s role in meeting current social challenges; and
• Preserve the story of chemistry across centuries.

CHF maintains major collections of instruments, fine art, photographs, papers, and books. We host conferences and lectures, support research, offer fellowships, and produce educational materials. Our museum and public programs explore subjects ranging from alchemy to nanotechnology.

Past recipients of the Pittcon Heritage Award