Edward Zovinka

Edward graduated from Roanoke College with a BS in chemistry and earned a PhD in Chemistry from the University at California – Davis. After postdoctoral research at NC State University, he joined the chemistry department at Saint Francis University (SFU). During his time at SFU, he has served as Department Chair, Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) and the Science Center Building Shepherd for the planning and construction phases.
Dr. Zovinka has been PI or co-PI on multiple grants from the National Science Foundation, SSP, and the ACS-Petroleum Research Fund to support undergraduate research. The grants enabled the purchase of equipment such as atomic force microscopes, scanning tunneling microscopes, Gas chromatographs-mass spectrometers (GC-MS), and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometers for SFU students to use. He has published 39 peer reviewed chemistry manuscripts (22 scholarly publications with SFU undergraduates), 2 books on chemistry, received a patent, and co-author on 60+ presentations at (inter)national conferences. The collaborative patent lists 2 SFU chemistry graduates!
He is currently a Councilor for the ACS Pittsburgh Local Section, was the 2023 Chair of the Pittsburgh Section of the American Chemical Society, and 2026 Exposition Chair for Pittcon (“The Pittsburgh Conference”), an international conference on analytical chemistry.
He is strongly committed to improving science education, creating the Rural Outreach Chemistry for Kids (R.O.C.K.) program, reaching over 80,000 K-12 students in rural central Pennsylvania since 1995. Edward’s awards include being named a Pennsylvania Professor the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, the J. Kevin Scanlon Award for the Promotion of Science by SSP, and honored by the Carnegie Science Center Awards for Excellence in the University/Post-secondary Educator category. He serves on the Board of Directors for “A Quaint Corner Children's Museum & Discovery Center” in Altoona.