Kratochvil, Byron George

Byron Kratochvil was born in Osmond, Nebraska on September 15, 1932, and studied chemistry at Iowa State University, receiving his BSc. in chemical engineering in 1957, his M.Sc. in 1959, and his Ph.D. in 1961 in analytical chemistry. On graduation, he joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he taught and carried out research for six years. In 1967, he accepted a position as Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Alberta. He was at the University of Alberta for the remainder of his professional career, serving as Chair of the Chemistry Department from 1989-1995, Associate Vice-President (Research) from 1995-1998, and Senior Advisor to the Vice-President (Research) from 1998-2001. In 1980-1981, Dr. Kratochvil had a leave from the University of Alberta to serve as a guest worker at the Centre for Analytical Chemistry at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology in Washington, D.C. While at the Institute, he co-authored a treatise on analytical sampling with John K. Taylor. Professor Kratochvil has published over 120 scientific publications and, with W.E. Harris, co-authored three textbooks in analytical chemistry (“Chemical Analysis” 1969, “Chemical Separations and Measurements” 1974, and “Introduction to Chemical Analysis” 1981). He was the Analytical Editor of the Canadian Journal of Chemistry for three years and Senior Editor of the Journal for a further five years. He served as Director of Planning and Operations for the Alberta Synchrotron Institute, a consortium of the Universities of Alberta, Calgary, and Lethbridge that supported access to synchrotron radiation for training, research, and industrial applications within Alberta. In 1989, Dr. Kratochvil was named Chair of the University of Alberta SLOWPOKE Reactor Facility Committee. He served as a member of the Advisory Board of the Chemical Institute of Canada and his areas of research interest include: oxidation-reduction reactions, non-aqueous solvents, and sampling for chemical analysis. Byron Kratochvil was awarded the Iowa State University Alumni Merit Award in 1990 and the 1990 Fisher Award of Canada, given by the Chemical Society of Canada for outstanding contributions to analytical chemistry. He is member of the American Chemical Society, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the Chemical Institute of Canada. Dr. Kratochvil retired from the University of Alberta in 1998 and was made Professor Emeritus in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Alberta. He continues to study and write in the area of sampling for chemical analysis and was involved with studying the problems associated with sampling and analysis of the Athabasca oil sands. Byron Kratochvil married Mariane in 1961, and has four children: Susan Joan, Daniel James, Jean Marie, and John David. He resides in Edmonton.