University Times

Longtime chemistry professor Peter E. Siska died Feb. 27, 2009. He was 65.

Siska began his academic career at Pitt in 1971, where he conducted pioneering research in molecular beam kinetics. He also was an award-winning teacher, earning the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 1987, an Innovations in Education Award in 2001 and a Bellet Arts and Sciences Teaching Excellence Award in 2003.

In addition, Siska received several other acknowledgments of his teaching, including the Student Government Board Faculty Honor Roll Award and the Golden Key National Honor Society honorary faculty inductee designation. He had taught in the University Honors College since its inception in 1987.

In a 2005 statement prepared for the Center for Instructional Development and Distance Education’s teaching support web site, Siska described himself: “Whether in actual lecturing, in text writing, in supervising or in pushing back the knowledge frontier, I see myself primarily as a teacher and abettor of the educational enterprise. Thus I especially cherished being chosen to receive a Bellet Award.”

Siska served as an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, 1975-79, and he chaired a Gordon Research Conference on atomic and molecular interactions in 1984. During his long career here, he served on the provost’s advisory committee on undergraduate programs, the Arts and Sciences curriculum review committee, the University Honors College advisory council and the Provost’s Advisory Council on Instructional Excellence.

Siska was a volunteer for the Chemistry Olympics at Pitt, and gave the Faraday Lecture and numerous National Chemistry Week demonstrations.

Siska was the author of “University Chemistry,” an honors freshman chemistry textbook published in 2006. He was working on a physical chemistry textbook at the time of his death.

His research lab focused on intermolecular forces and molecular reaction dynamics. Among his scientific publications is a highly cited review on Penning ionization, an ionization process involving reactions between neutral atoms and other atoms or molecules.

Colleague and friend George C. Bandik, senior lecturer and director of undergraduate studies in the chemistry department, said, “He was most noted for being a great teacher. And he was proud of that fact. I attended the funeral services [on March 2] and it’s amazing how many former students were there. He taught a wide variety of students, from freshmen to senior chemistry majors.”

Bandik added, “He also had a big impact on me. We would sit around and talk about teaching and how to improve teaching and find better ways to do things.”

Bandik noted that Siska won both a Chancellor’s teaching award and a Bellet award, some 15 years apart. “So his dedication to teaching — and his success as a teacher — was always there. He was dedicated, concerned about students, compassionate and understanding,” Bandik said.

David Waldeck, professor and chair of the chemistry department, said, “He was very dedicated and passionate about teaching and research. He was a beloved and admired teacher, patient with students. He had the highest standards and loved to perform demonstrations to show chemistry in action. It’s also true that his research on the fundamental questions relating to chemical reactivity was scholarly and dedicated and of the highest integrity. Although he had a very soft-spoken and quiet personality, his passion became evident when describing chemistry and chemical principles.”

A native of Evergreen Park, Ill., Siska was first in his class at Mendel Catholic High School. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry with minors in physics and mathematics from DePaul University and his PhD in physical chemistry from Harvard University as a National Science Foundation Fellow. Following a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Chicago, he joined the Pitt faculty.

He served as a visiting professor in 1998 at Harvard, where he taught honors freshman chemistry.

Outside of chemistry, Siska’s interests included history, astronomy, travel throughout the United States and Europe, as well as classical music.

He was a member of the Shadyside Choral Society and other community choirs, and a member of St. Irenaeus Catholic Church.

Siska is survived by his wife of 41 years, Jeanne Siska; his son, David Siska; his daughter, Sarah Siska; his mother, Marie Siska; his brothers William Siska and Robert Siska; his sister, Margaret Siska, and many nieces and nephews.

Memorial contributions are suggested to the St. Vincent De Paul Society of St. Irenaeus Catholic Church, Oakmont.

A campus memorial service for Siska is being planned.

—Peter Hart