Robert Melusky just posted this on Fuel Cell Nation's Facebook page:
It is with a heavy heart that I am posting this. Jim McElroy died Thursday (1/3/2012) after suffering a massive stroke. Jim was one of the true fuel cell pioneers beginning as a young engineer at General Electric and ending active at Bloom Energy and Infinity Fuel Cell and Hydrogen. He was not all that welcoming to his supervisor's suggestion to get into the fuel cell group as he did not want to spend his career designing fuel tanks in aircraft wings! Jim was a key person on the team that placed the first PEM fuels cells for a practical application in the Gemini Space Program and over the years he amassed more than 55 patents in this industry. His fertile mind was active right up until his death, guiding a team of young engineers to implement his truly innovative ideas. He was a remarkable man.
I knew Jim from my time at Giner, where I demonstrated an anode tail-gas hydrogen recovery system (utilizing partial-pressure swing adsorption) for Bloom Energy. Jim was a great guy; I am glad I was able to hear some good GE stories from conversations with him and Giner's Tony LaConti (another old-timer from the GE Gemini program who has now passed away.) We will all miss him greatly.
Robert MeluskyRobert Melusky
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