Professor Philip Andrew Distin

Professor Philip Andrew Distin

It is with great sadness that I report that Professor Philip Distin passed away on January 12, 2016, at his home.

The following memorial tribute was read at the February 9 Faculty Council meeting. The death notice can be found here.

Philip Distin was born in Clevedon, England in 1942. He received a B.Sc. (1963) and Ph.D. (1967) in Metallurgy from Imperial College, London University. His PhD dissertation, under the supervision of eminent metallurgy professor F.D. Richardson, dealt with “Reactions between Drops of Iron and Flowing Gases”. It is interesting to note that while he was studying Metallurgy in London he also studied music, receiving an A.R.C.M. (1965) from the Royal College of Music. He arrived in Canada immediately after completion of his PhD in 1967 to take a Post-Doctoral Fellow position at the Atlantic Regional Laboratory of the National Research Council of Canada in Halifax, where he continued his steelmaking research until 1969. It was at that time that an offer from INCO-the International Nickel Company became a turning point in his research career, switching his interest from steel making to hydrometallurgy of non-ferrous metals. He held the position of Group Leader at INCO’s Sheridan Park Research Laboratory in Mississauga, Ontario, from 1969 to 1972, when he joined McGill as Assistant Professor in Metallurgical Engineering.

Professor Distin served our department for 30 years (1972-2002) by offering courses and conducting research in the area of hydrometallurgy and corrosion of metals. First and foremost, Phil was a teacher, committed to his students’ learning through class room and laboratory instruction or one-to-one research supervision. I was one of those who personally benefited having him as my Master’s and PhD thesis supervisor. As confirmation of his model commitment to teaching, he received the Faculty of Engineering Outstanding Teaching Award in 1991. Phil authored / co-authored some 70 journal and conference publications. In addition and to his credit, he had several patents and technical reports prepared for industrial sponsors. His significant contributions to Metallurgical Engineering research included nickel recovery from laterite ores by pressure leaching, the production of metal powders from organic media, the recovery and separation of rare or precious metals using solvent extraction, the recovery of heavy metals from mining effluent waters via the development of novel silicate based sorbent media, to recognize a few. Of particular note, is his development of patented technology for recovery of platinum and palladium metals from spent converter catalysts that led to industrial application.

Phil really enjoyed his relationships with students and colleagues, always being available to answer their queries and share in his own unselfish manner his deep technical knowledge. He will be always fondly remembered for his gentle character, quiet dignity, quick wit, and sincere generosity by which he conducted himself as teacher, researcher, and colleague. He will be greatly missed.

George Demopoulos
Chair, Department of Mining & Materials Engineering