Herbert Alden McKinstry, retired faculty member, celebrated an incredible milestone, he turned 100 years old. His century of life has been marked by remarkable contributions to science, education, and social justice.
Born on April 22, 1925, McKinstry showed an early passion for music, singing in church choirs from the age of 10 and playing clarinet, saxophone, and bassoon in high school bands. Though he dreamed of attending the Eastman School of Music, financial realities led him to Alfred University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in glass technology.
After marrying Jean Millspaugh in 1945, McKinstry moved to Happy Valley in 1947. He earned his master’s degree in ceramics in 1950 and his doctoral degree in physics in 1960, while raising four children. During these years, he remained deeply engaged in both research and activism, traveling to Mississippi to support voter registration efforts during the civil rights movement.
During McKinstry’s career at Penn State, he helped pioneer X-ray diffraction research, mentored generations of scientists, and co-founded the Materials Research Laboratory. He authored over sixty scientific publications, earned more than two thousand citations, and received the Ross Coffin Purdy Award for his work on lead titanate (PbTiO₃). His innovative furnace designs for high-temperature diffraction studies were commercialized by Tempress, a company that he helped start. McKinstry was an early adopter of computers for scientific research and education.
The classes he taught—ranging from X-ray diffraction to computer graphics for ceramics—contributed to the curriculum for materials science at Penn State. Even in retirement, McKinstry’s passion for learning continues, as he keeps up with the latest developments in physics through Scientific American.
As McKinstry celebrates his one-hundredth birthday, we honor his extraordinary life, his commitment to knowledge, and the countless lives he has touched through his work, mentorship, and activism.
Photo on right: Herbert A. McKinstry’s retirement party during the summer of 1990, from left, Eric Cross, Pat Licastro, McKinstry, Bob Newnham, Jean McKinstry, Rustum Roy, and Della Roy.