Stephen F. Wolf passed away unexpectedly on April 22, 2023 at the age of 58. Stephen (‘Steve’) was Professor of Chemistry at Indiana State University in Terre Haute. Steve was a highly respected analytical chemist with many interests including analytical method development and the use of novel multivariate chemometric techniques. He often combined these interests when examining meteorite compositions.
Steve received his B.S. degree in chemistry from Purdue University in 1987 and his Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Purdue University in 1993 under the direction of Prof. Michael E. Lipschutz. His thesis was titled “Trace Element Study of H Chondrites: Evidence for Meteoroid Streams.” After graduation, Steve worked as a Staff Chemist at Argonne National Laboratory. While there, he worked on the analysis and testing of nuclear waste glasses, applying his expertise to the analysis of actinides and their decay products. For the past 22 years, Steve was in the Department of Chemistry and Physics at Indiana State University. He was a valued educator and was the deserving recipient of numerous teaching awards including the prestigious ISU Caleb Mills Distinguished Teaching Award and the College of Arts & Sciences Educational Excellence Award.
The series of seven scientific papers entitled “Chemical studies of H chondrites” illustrate Steve’s use of multivariate statistical methods on trace element data to investigate fundamental properties of a chondrite group. The most controversial, but statistically valid, of these being the idea that there are temporally variable H chondrite sources sampled by the Earth. Steve was able to again combine his interests in analytical chemistry and cosmochemistry between 1999 and 2007 when he was part of a group that wrote biennial review articles entitled “Geochemical and Cosmochemical Materials” for the American Chemical Society Journal Analytical Chemistry.
Steve had a passion for music and a wonderful dry sense of humor. He is greatly missed as both a friend and colleague. Steve is survived by his wife, Heather Wilson Wolf, his father and mother, Robert F. and Joyce Wolf, and his brother, Jeffrey Wolf.
Jon Friedrich
Mike Lipschutz