Lorin Rollins Stieff

Lorin Rollins Stieff dedicated his life to the peaceful use of atomic energy. He died peacefully at his home in Sarasota surrounded by love on Friday December 29th, 2017. Born December 1st to Ruth Rollins and Frederik Philip Stieff of Baltimore, Lorin studied geology at Johns Hopkins University where he received his Bachelor of Science. He continued his post-graduate education at Stanford University and the U.S. Naval Academy. When World War II began, Lorin served as an officer in the U.S. Navy stationed aboard the battleship South Dakota in the South Pacific. His career of developing and furthering peaceful uses of atomic energy began at the U.S. Geologic survey, where he was the first to discover and document the properties of coffinite, a uranium-bearing mineral. During the Cold War he helped develop surveillance technologies to monitor Soviet nuclear weapons with the Air Force Technical Application Center. The final chapter of his career in civil service was at the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. There he worked to create better safeguards for nuclear reactors. Lorin was issued numerous patents throughout his career, the first in 1938 and the last in 2012. After retiring from the Federal government, Lorin established two research companies, including Rad-Elec, Inc., which helps maintain safe home environments through the E-perm® system of radon measurement that he pioneered. He served on the Peace Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, was a member of the Cosmos Club and was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is survived by his loving wife Harriet Burns Stieff, of Sarasota, FL, and Kensington, MD, his sons Frederick Rollins Stieff (and Kelly Stieff), of Leesburg, VA, Charles Burns Stieff (and Linda Paine), of Kensington, MD, his daughter Catherine Stieff Gotschall (and Stephen Luchter), of Woodstock, VA, as well as his grandchildren Lorin Carr Stieff, Alexandra Stieff, Caroline Gotschall Calloway, Stephen Ide (and Hannah Manke Ide), Katie Ide, Taunton Paine (and Nikki Ferraiolo), and many nieces and nephews. Services will be held at the Church of the Redeemer, January 13th at 11:30 A.M. Memorial donations may be made in his name to the Church of the Redeemer or Alzheimer's Disease Research.

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Lorin Rollins Stieff

December 29, 2017