Frank J Sonleitner

Frank J Sonleitner is recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Legacy Member in the Education field. Following a 50 year-plus career in the scientific research and education field, Dr. Sonleitner has recently retired from his role as an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Oklahoma (OU). He was inspired to teach zoology after discovering his inherent interest in animals. “The Department of Biology consists of 34 faculty and more than 50 graduate students, whose research interests range from crab leg regeneration proteins and fly neuropeptide secretion genes to fish sexual deception, processing of taste in the brain, dinosaur evolution and ecosystems in peril,” the university’s website states. “This diversity, along with our Department’s open and friendly atmosphere, promotes interdisciplinary research and collaborative interaction.

It also provides an excellent environment in which to train graduate students for successful careers in teaching, research, industry and conservation. “Several of the Biology faculty hold joint appointments with the OU Biological Station on Lake Texoma, the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History,” the website continues. “These affiliations support graduate student training in field biology, conservation biology, and systematics and museum curation.” Dr. Sonleitner earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Chicago in 1951. After serving for two years in the U.S. Army, he returned to Chicago to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in 1956 and then a Ph.D. in zoology in 1959. He then completed a two year post-doctoral National Science Foundation fellowship at the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia.

On his return from Australia, Dr. Sonleitner took a position as Lecturer in Zoology at the University of California at Berkeley. He then relocated to Kansas in 1962 where he became an Assistant Professor of Entomology at the University of Kansas. While there he became a co-investigator on an Army research grant from the Office of the Surgeon General in 1963. After his time spent at the University of Kansas, Dr. Sonleitner joined the faculty of the University of Oklahoma in 1965. After four years as an Assistant Professor of Zoology, he then advanced to the role of Associate Professor. He became known for his expertise in population ecology, Eco genetics, entomology and statistics and has had a number of research papers published on these subjects and other topics. In 2002, Dr. Sonleitner retired from the university with the title of Associate Professor Emeritus of Zoology.

 

To further his professional development, Dr. Sonleitner was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute of Biological Sciences, the Ecological Society of America, the Entomological Society of America and the Oklahoma Academy of Science. Additionally he served for 19 years on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Science Education and was the first recipient of their Friend of Darwin Award. Currently he is on the Board of Directors of Oklahomans for Excellence in Science Education. In recognition of his accomplishments in the field, Dr. Sonleitner has been featured in several editions of Who’s Who in American Education, Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World and Marquis Who’s Who. Dr. Sonleitner dedicates this recognition to his Ph.D. advisor, the late Professor Thomas Park of the University of Chicago. For more information, please visit: www.ou.edu/cas/biology/people/faculty/frank-sonleitner.html.