Past Recipients of the Pittcon Heritage Award

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.