John Frank Elliott (July 31, 1920 – April 15, 1991) was an American professor of

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

who made significant contributions to the science of

pyrometallurgy Pyrometallurgy is a branch of extractive metallurgy. It consists of the thermal treatment of minerals and metallurgical ores and concentrates to bring about physical and chemical transformations in the materials to enable recovery of valuable ...

during his long career at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT).

Early life and education

Elliott was born July 31, 1920, in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, and studied

metallurgical engineering Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

where he graduated with distinction in 1942. After serving as a Lieutenant commander in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he completed his

Doctorate of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

at MIT in 1949.

Career

Elliott joined the research laboratories of

U.S. Steel The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe. The company produces and sells steel products, ...

before leaving for the

Inland Steel Company The Inland Steel Company was an American steel company active from 1893 until its acquisition in 1998 by Ispat International (later Mittal Steel Company). Originally based in East Chicago, Indiana, it was eventually headquartered in Chicago at t ...

where he was active in research relating to quality control. This was a time of growth for the US steel industry and there was significant funding for research into improving the steelmaking process and tightening the chemistry of new steel grades being developed. Elliott and his co-workers focused on developing understanding of the

chemical thermodynamics Chemical thermodynamics is the study of the interrelation of heat and work with chemical reactions or with physical changes of state within the confines of the laws of thermodynamics. Chemical thermodynamics involves not only laboratory measure ...

the steelmaking process, an emphasis that he continued when returning to MIT in 1955 as an associate professor of metallurgy. He became a full professor in 1960 and over the next three decades published over 200 papers on steelmaking, high temperature chemistry, hot corrosion of materials and principles of chemical thermodynamics and kinetics. His two volume "Thermochemistry of Steelmaking" became a major source of basic data for the steel industry. Elliot's work with Sigworth on the solution behaviour of minor element in iron established an effective and relatively simple technique for predicting the outcome of steelmaking reactions. Elliott became director of the Mining and Minerals Resources Research Institute (MMRRI) at MIT which was created by the

United States Bureau of Mines The United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) was the primary Federal government of the United States, United States government agency in the 20th century that conducted scientific research and disseminated information on the extraction, processing ...

in 1978. The

Association for Iron and Steel Technology The Association for Iron and Steel Technology (AIST) is a non-profit professional organization focused on promoting the international iron and steel industry through networking and education. The AIST has over 17,500 members in over 70 countries, ...

(AIST) have an annual lectureship award named after him that honors his contribution to the field.

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

also has a Professorship of Materials Chemistry named after him, which in 2013 was filled by

Donald Sadoway Donald Robert Sadoway (born 7 March 1950) is professor emeritus of materials chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a noted expert on batteries and has done significant research on how to improve the performance and longe ...

Death

Elliott died of a brain tumor on April 15, 1991, in

Winchester, Massachusetts Winchester is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located 8.2 miles (13.2 km) north of downtown Boston as part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. It is also one of the List of Massachusetts locations by per capit ...

, at the age of 70.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, John F. 1920 births 1991 deaths MIT School of Engineering faculty American metallurgists University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni