James Richard DiStefano, age 78, of Oak Ridge, passed away on Dec. 30, 2013.

Known as Jim to his many friends, he was born on Oct. 27, 1935, in Alexandria, La. He graduated from Menard High School and continued on to receive a bachelor of science degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

While working at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, he completed his master’s degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Tennessee. The thesis he submitted to UT described experimental work at ORNL on the corrosion of refractory metals by lithium.

He played a leading role in the development of a modified 9Cr-1Mo steel for use in liquid metal reactors that was subsequently qualified for other high-temperature energy applications (boilers and piping) and remains one of ORNL’s technology transfer success stories. He had a distinguished 42-year career at ORNL in the Metals and Ceramics Division, including leading the Corrosion Science and Technology Group for a number of years. [Read more…]