Chipman, John

▪ American chemist and metallurgist

born April 25, 1897, Tallahassee, Fla., U.S.

died May 14, 1983, Winchester, Mass.

      American physical chemist and metallurgist who was instrumental in applying the principles of physical chemistry to constituents in liquid metals and to the chemical reactions between slag and liquid iron that are important in the production of pig iron and steel.

      Chipman was educated at The University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., and the University of California (Ph.D., 1926). While at the University of Michigan (1929–35), he began his study of the reaction between carbon in molten iron and oxygen-bearing gases. As a member of the faculty (1937–62) and head of the metallurgy department (1946–62) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, he continued and expanded his research on the physical chemistry of iron- and steelmaking. During World War II he was chief of the Metallurgy Section of the Manhattan Project at MIT and the University of Chicago.

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