In memoriam Pietro Pedeferri (1938–2008)

Pietro passed away quietly on the 3rd of December 2008 after a quick illness which prevented him from saying goodbye. Colleagues and friends only learned the bad news after he had already exchanged the temporary for the eternal.

Pietro Pedeferri was born in Delebio, Sondrio, Italy. In 1963 he graduated in Chemical Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano where he continued his career as researcher for the Italian National Research Council (1964), Assistant Professor of Physical-Chemistry (1965) and Associate Professor of Corrosion and Protection of Metals (1968). During the academic years 1980–1982 he was professor of Electrochemistry at the University of Bari. In 1982 he was appointed Professor of Corrosion and Protection of Metals at the Politecnico di Milano where he remained until his death. At this University he was on the Administrative Council for 10 years, he also was Head of the Department of Applied Physical-Chemistry and the last 4 years he served as a member of the Academic Senate.

Pedeferri is the author of more than 350 papers and 25 books specialising on many topics concerning corrosion and the protection of metals, although he also displayed a concentrated interest in the corrosion of reinforced concrete, where he made outstanding contributions, the most known being the introduction of the cathodic prevention for new structures and the very systematic and rigorous studies on the durability of stainless steel reinforcements.

Pietro was also a very gifted artist with his “Paintings (electrochemical) on titanium”, a subject in which he could unleash his unlimited imagination. His books, all of which I received a copy of with his dedication, show a stream of creativity. To look at him in his home “electrochemically painting” on titanium under the flow of tap water and changing in a potentiostat the voltage applied to the titanium plaquette, has been for me an experience which showed his extraordinary ability for letting his mind and hands control the flow of colors and forms. Pietro collected several awards for his artistic activities, to mention only one, he was awarded the “Science pour l’art” prize in Paris in 1989. From 2003 he was a member of the “Instituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere”.

Pedeferri was active in several international organizations, such as the National Association of Corrosion Engineers or COST and was a very active RILEM member, mainly contributing to the work of the TC-154 RILEM TC-154-EMC: “Electrochemical Techniques for Measuring Corrosion in Concrete” and TC-178 “Testing and modeling chloride penetration into concrete” and their workshops and related activities.

He leaves collaborators who have already made important contributions to science, two sons and a daughter who follows his corrosion specialization and a wife, Marina, who lovingly supported him for many years. He also leaves many friends all around the world who appreciated his rigor, scientific risk and convictions.

I met him in 1981 when attending my first international course on Stress Corrosion Cracking at Newcastle, UK. In spite of the fact I was only a young researcher and he had already written books on corrosion, we became friends and started an exchange of experiences and discussions that continued for the rest of our lives. I remember him always laughing, as in the photograph above. I imagine him sailing forever in the boats he liked to paint, lost in the water movements that he reflected so extraordinarily in his paintings.

Electrochemical Paintings on Titanium (Pietro Pedeferri)

Carmen Andrade

May 2009