Harry J. Svec was born in Cleveland, Ohio on June 24, 1918. He attended college as an undergraduate in Cleveland at John Carroll University, where he graduated magna cum laude in pre-medicine in 1941. That year he went on to graduate school at Iowa State College (University), where he became the departmental glassblower and created diffusion pumps and other items for the Chemistry Department. He was interrupted in his studies by World War II and work on the Manhattan Project. Under the direction of Frank H. Spedding, Svec and other Ames Laboratory staff, including Harley Wilhelm, worked on refining uranium and developed what is known as the Ames Process, which is a particularly efficient way of purifying uranium. From 1942-1945, the Ames Laboratory produced about 1,000 tons of uranium for the Manhattan Project.



After the Manhattan Project, Svec was appointed to the Ames Laboratory/Institute for Atomic Research. While conducting graduate work under Spedding, he built the first mass spectrometers at ISU. In 1950 he earned his Ph.D. and was granted faculty status. As a faculty member, he taught, published, and conducted research, contributing significantly to the use of mass spectrometry for analysis in many areas of chemistry. In 1978, Svec was named a distinguished professor, and upon his retirement in 1983, he was given the title Professor Emeritus.



Svec was a member of many societies and a Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry, then known as The Chemical Society (London). He was a charter member of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E-14 Committee on Mass Spectrometry, which became the American Society for Mass Spectrometry. He served that society from 1973-1978 in roles such as Vice President for Programs and President. He was also one of the founding editors for International Journal of Mass Spectrometry and Ion Physics, which is now the International Journal of Mass Spectrometry. In 1978, Dr. Svec was an early contributor to laser mass spectrometry as well. Additionally, the standard reference material that has been used to validate lithium isotopic measurements is called "L-Svec" in his honor, since he prepared and analyzed the material. In 1984, Svec received the American Chemical Society’s Zimmerman Award for Environmental Science for his work in developing the resin extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) methods for removing organic pollutants in water.



When he retired in June of 1983, he had been associated with Iowa State for 42 years. After this time, Svec finished writing a history of the Chemistry Department at Iowa State University that documented events, developments, and people through the World War II years. This work was published by the Chemistry Department in 2006. Svec passed away on November 28, 2006. Svec married Edna Bruno in 1943, and they had nine children together — five sons and four daughters. His wife, Edna Svec, passed away in June 2013.