Individual Details

Death

Took own life using nitrus oxide.

Obituary

Stephan J. McLain

AGE: 61 • Wilmington

Stephan J. McLain, 61, of Wilmington, Delaware, passed away suddenly on Monday, Oct. 6, 2014. He was born September 5, 1953 in Tacoma, WA, the son of Richard and Mary McLain of Des Moines, IA. Steve graduated from Iowa State University in 1975 and received his Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from MIT in 1979. He was one of the first students to work under the tutelage of Prof. Richard R. Schrock, who went on to win the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2005. While at MIT, Steve made key contributions in the field of organotantalum chemistry, including the discovery of a remarkable olefin dimerization mechanism that is still taught in advanced graduate level chemistry courses. After post-doctoral research at the University of California at Berkeley, Steve joined the staff at DuPont Central Research & Development where he worked for 34 years. Steve's DuPont work was published in prestigious international journals including Science and the Journal of the American Chemical Society. He is named as an inventor on forty issued US patents. Steve's interests included hiking, kayaking and photography. He loved his tango community and enjoyed dancing and spending time in their company. He was also an accomplished musician, playing Irish and Argentine tango flute.

In addition to his parents, he is survived by his daughter, Eileen McLain of Brooklyn, NY; sister and brother-in-law, Susan and Michael Kellogg of Cheshire, CT; brother and sister-in-law, David and Denise McLain of Concord, NC and nephews, Alex and Will Kellogg and Kyle, Travis and Read McLain. Steve is remembered by his chemistry colleagues, friends and family for his brilliance and creativity as well as his gentle kindness and sense of humor. They are devastated by his loss and miss him dearly.

A private memorial service will be held in CT. Please visit Steve's Facebook page to leave messages of condolence and remembrance. A celebration of his life will be held at Sanga Space, 116 W. Baltimore Ave., Media, PA on December 13 at 5pm. A scholarship fund will be established through the MIT chemistry department. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/delawareonline/obituary.aspx?n=Stephan-McLain&pid=172821371#sthash.qj50B2eR.dpuf