Professor Emeritus George K. Schweitzer served a nearly eight-decade-long teaching career at UT. Joining the chemistry department in 1948 at the young age of 23, Schweitzer quickly became a trailblazer through teaching and leading tens of thousands of students. Schweitzer’s family informed the university of his death Sept. 20.

Schweitzer desired to never stop teaching until death, so the professor decided to only partially retire in 2023. He remained teaching a class until he became ill this semester. His passion for teaching stayed true until the very end. 

During his 76-year-long career, Schweitzer published two chemistry textbooks, nearly 20 genealogy guidebooks, multiple articles and even a book covering the history of chemistry at UT. Outside of chemistry, he took many interests, including ancestry  — even earning a master’s degree and doctorate degree in philosophy as well as a doctorate degree in history. 

Schweitzer became an alumni distinguished professor in 1970, and he was awarded the Joe Johnson Lifetime Service Award in 2013 in recognition of 65 years of teaching at UT.

Outside of the classroom, he was an avid researcher. Schweitzer’s skills played a role in many historic moments, including World War II where he participated in research on the radioactive element thorium. A majority of his monumental research was based here in Knoxville or Oak Ridge.

During the Cold War, he served as the Tennessee state radiation officer where his work supported innovation technologies, including the PET scan. 

Still, Schweitzer was more than a lecturer and researcher — his dedication to research and innovation brought prestige to the chemistry department and sparked a wave of expansion through the college. This expansion and innovation can even be seen today with plans to build a new chemistry building beginning this winter. 

“Like all university buildings, it is serving its purpose. But due to our expansion in research and teaching, we have outgrown the buildings and need more space,” Schweitzer said in an interview with The Daily Beacon in 2004. 

Kaitlyn McDonald, a student of Schweitzer in 2016, pursued a Ph.D. under his mentorship and recalled the professor being very lively, even at 92 years old. 

“He’s very animated about all of his research,” McDonald said. “He’s very excited about it and wants to progress it. His mind is always going.” 

Schweitzer’s legacy is integral to UT culture, and his fearless stewardship left a major impression on the community.