The team at SPEX SamplePrep and Katanax are saddened about the passing of Dr. Fernand Claisse. We will never forget his advice and friendship. Please read his bio below to learn more about him.
Dr. Fernand Claisse was born in Quebec City in 1923. He obtained his B.Sc. degree in Physics at the Universite Laval in 1947 and the Ph.D. in Physics and Metallurgy in 1957., also at Laval. From 1947-58, he worked in XRD and XRF for the Department of Mines of Quebec. In 1958, he rejoined the Universite Laval as a professor until 1984. He founded the company Claisse Scientifique Corporation in 1972 where he was director of research until 2002. He was the “lucky” user of the first Norelco spectrometer in Canada in 1948 and prepared his first fusion beads in 1955. He later developed a quantitative theory of the Heterogeneity Effect, the Claisse-Quintin algorithm, the Fluxer V, and in 1982 published with R. Tertain their well known book Principles of Quantitative XRF Analysis. Since then he has developed specially shaped Pt crucibles to aid the fusion process, other type of fusion machines, a method for the fusion of sulfides, with G.R. Lachance a simply calculation for the tertiary effect in XRF, and a contamination-free manufacturing process for mini-bead fluxes. In 1995 Lachance and Claisse published Quantitative XRF Analysis.
Dr. Claisse followed this with the development of a theory of the effect of acidity and atom size on the solubility of oxides in fluxes, the “optimal flux composition”, the first iteration of the Sherman equation, a fusion technique for ferroalloys and metallic powders, and his latest book The Physics and Chemistry of Fusion for XRF Analysis. For many years he presented annual lectures on fusion techniques at the SUNY summer course and the Denver conference workshops. Fernand has been teaching with the UWO XRF Course since 1996. He was a great friend, father and teacher and he will be missed by all.