Edward L. Korwek

12/05/1946 - 11/02/2025

Edward L. Korwek, a resident of the Washington, DC area for nearly 30 years and then of Rehoboth Beach, DE, passed away peacefully at the age of 78 in Delaware on November 2nd, 2025. He had Parkinson's disease. Dr. Korwek was born in Erie, Pennsylvania on December 5, 1946, son of the late Edward J. and Mary (Tartaglione) Korwek. He is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Kathleen, and two children, Kristen of Pennsylvania and Michael of Annapolis, Maryland.

Ed graduated from Harborcreek High School in 1965 where he was an honor student and president of the junior class and vice president of the senior class. He graduated in 1969 with a BS in pre-medicine from Gannon University where he was an honor student and vice president of the senior class and president of the Epsilon Upsilon (Gannon) chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. In 1974 Ed received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Pittsburgh, after being awarded several pre-doctoral scholarships. He subsequently received post-doctoral awards to study the molecular biology of cancer at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. During this period, he also became a district president of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. In 1979 he received a law degree with honors from Duquesne University. While at Duquesne, Ed was selected as a member of the Duquesne Law Review, was awarded two full tuition scholarships, and was the recipient of other awards for legal excellence.

Ed practiced law for almost 30 years at a major DC law firm. His professional life work focused on the legal aspects of plant and animal genetic engineering. A recognized authority on the legal and scientific aspects of biotechnology regulation, he was a frequent speaker and published a number of manuals and articles on a variety of legal topics relating to the topics of EPA, USDA, and FDA oversight. He was a member of a number of legal and scientific professional associations and served on several editorial boards. He was also a member of several federal advisory committees, including the US Department of Health and Human Services, Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee; the US Department of Agriculture Advisory Committee on Agriculture Biotechnology; the Agricultural Biotechnology Research Advisory Committee; the US Congress Office of Technology Assessment, New Developments in Biotechnology; and the National Research Council, Commission on Life Sciences, Board on Biology, Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of the Introduction of Genetically Modified Microorganisms and Plants into the Environment.

He was interested in basketball, gardening, chess, swimming, loved pets, and in later years enjoyed discussing the cosmos, the scientific study of the universe.

Memorial services will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Rural Dog Rescue.