Long before Herbert A. McKinstry ’50 MS, ’60 PhD Sci became a founding faculty member of Penn State’s Materials Research Laboratory, he built a box kite mounted with a camera to take aerial photographs, and he cut his own audio recordings onto LPs. 
That same hands-on curiosity defined his career: He joined the Penn State faculty in 1962 as an assistant professor of solid-state technology and became known for his expertise in X-ray diffraction and low-thermal expansion materials. He co-authored more than 60 scientific papers and mentored generations of students in ceramics and materials science until his retirement in 1990. 

“He was always interested in pursuing knowledge and capability,” says his son, Herb L. McKinstry ’77, ’86 MMus A&A. Even into his 90s, Herb would find his father sitting on his bed, working out how to better count neutrinos—subatomic particles that pass through the Earth virtually undetected.

McKinstry’s resourcefulness showed up at home, too. He replaced worn TV tubes and toaster elements himself and built his children a wooden slide and stools he called “goofies,” which were used as seats, tables, “or anything else young minds could imagine,” his son recalls.

McKinstry was passionate about singing, and he performed with the State College Choral Society until 2005. He and his wife, Jean Millspaugh McKinstry, were also civil rights advocates, supporting voter registration efforts and helping to sponsor the Southern Student Project, which enabled Black students to attend Penn State. 

McKinstry died April 30, 2026. He was predeceased by Jean and his son Samuel, and is survived by children Nancy Parks, Julie McKinstry, and Herb, along with Sam’s widow Becky, four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. —Katherine O’Brien