Richard K. Vitek, a 1958 chemistry graduate, began his career as a research chemist producing uranium from ore, before moving on to work as a scientist, director and startup CEO. His accomplishments include working with the U.S. Coast Guard to develop UV imaging instruments that analyze oil spills to identify the tankers responsible and develop a method of testing arsenic levels in wine that led the Environmental Protection Agency to impose stricter limits on pesticide use in U.S. vineyards.
Share This Story
Spark a Memory?
Share your story! Fill out the form below to share your fondest memory or anecdote of S&T. If you'd prefer not typing, you can also share by phone at 833-646-3715 (833-Miner150).
Jillian (Estes) and Charlie Stankovic
Jillian (Estes) and Charlie Stankovic met in 2013 after overhearing stories about one another. During finals week, they played sand…
Miner athletics’ biggest fan
Keith Bailey, a 1964 mechanical engineering graduate, transformed a company and then transformed S&T athletics. He joined Williams Co. in…
The sun’s on their side
In 1999, the Missouri S&T Solar Car Team took first place in Sunrayce, now known as the American Solar Challenge….
Endurance was her middle name
The first woman to earn a degree from S&T, Eva Endurance Hirdler Greene, class of 1911, received the general science…
A civil war fortress
As the Civil War raged on, the Union Army, following a defeat at Wilson’s Creek in southwest Missouri, fell back…
Inventing the future at ‘the idea factory’
In the 1950s, AT&T Bell Labs was a hotbed of innovation, a place where engineers and theorists came together to…