JAMES P. KOHN, a 1951 Notre Dame graduate, believed to have taught chemical engineering at Notre Dame longer than anyone in the department’s history, died in late May at age 78. He was a member of the chemical engineering faculty for 48 years, the last eight in an emeritus capacity. Professor Kohn will long be remembered for his genuine interest in students and his amazing recollection of them. It’s said he could remember names and personal details about students 30 or 40 years after they graduated. The fondness was reciprocated as he was always the first faculty member that chemical engineering alumni sought out when they returned to campus. A devout Catholic whose siblings included three nuns, Kohn loved Notre Dame, especially its athletic traditions, and thought there was no better place to be. One of his closest friends was Leon Hart ‘50, the 1949 Heisman Trophy winner who was a student at Notre Dame the same time as Kohn. Hart was at Kohn’s house the day in September 2002 when the former football star fell ill and later died at a local hospital. Kohn was born in Dubuque, Iowa, and served in the Army in World War II as a medic in the Asia-Pacific theater. He was wounded twice and at one point feigned death to survive on a battlefield taken by the Japanese. In addition to two Purple Hearts, he won a Bronze Star for valor. He joined the Notre Dame faculty in 1955, advanced to full professor in 1964 and became the department’s first assistant chairman in 1982. He continued in that role until his retirement in 1995 and as an emeritus professor continued to conduct research, mentor students and occasionally fill in for colleagues. He received numerous honors for his teaching, research and service. His research specialty was phase equilibrium, which considers the relative distributions of chemicals when two phases of a material – say a liquid and a gas – are present and in contact inside a closed vessel. He is also believed to have amassed the largest set of data in the United States on solar energy. The information was generated from a study he began in the early 1970s and continued until just a few months before his death.…
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