Honoree-
Andres A. Zavistas

For more than 40 years, Andreas Zavitsas has pursued his interest in chemistry and biochemistry. Earning his B.S. degree from the City College of New York and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University, he began his career in 1962 as a research associate for the Brookhaven National Laboratory of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Two years later, he became a chemist for Monsanto Chemical Co. in Springfield Massachusetts, researching phenolic resins and high temperature insulating materials, in addition to developing the heat shield for the Apollo series spacecraft.

He began teaching as an assistant professor at the Brooklyn Campus of Long Island University in 1967. Within two years he became an associate professor, rising to full professor in 1973. During his 34 years at the University, he has been project director for seven grants, totaling more than $2.4 million and has served as president of the University faculty senate, as well as the faculty union. In 1975, he was named graduate dean of the Brooklyn Campus while simultaneously becoming the first chief administrative officer for the Westchester Campus. Today, he continues to teach at the Brooklyn Campus and acknowledges the level of freedom his academic career has provided in allowing him to pursue his research interests. In 1980, the University recognized the quality of his research with the Trustees Award for Scholarly Achievement. He also received the Westchester Campus Founders Award in 1995.

Dr. Zavitsas has published research in the fields of organic free radicals; physical organic chemistry; phenolic resins; kinetics; thermodynamics; semi-empirical calculations; and the nature of water solutions. He is listed in Who’s Who in the World, 2001 edition. He has been a visiting research fellow at Australian National University, Canberra, and a visiting research professor at the National Research Council of Italy, Bologna. He and his wife, Lourdes, have one son.

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