Jim Liburdy

Jim Liburdy spent his formative years in Greenlawn NY. He was a graduate of Harborfields High School, Cornell University, Stanford University, and Pennsylvania State University, where he earned a PHD in mechanical engineering. Jim began his teaching career at the University of Memphis. A few years later, he moved to South Carolina’s Clemson University, where he stayed from 1980-1997. During this time, Jim became a professor, for a while acted as the department head of mechanical engineering, and befriended his longtime colleague Deborah Pence. In 1997, Jim interviewed for a new endowed Chair at OSU, created by a donation from Dr. James R. Welty. Soon thereafter Jim purchased a 13 acre parcel with a modest home in Philomath Oregon. Jim hired a moving truck to haul his small sports car to Oregon while he flew on a commercial airline. With the sports car acting as both a 'suitcase' and a delimiter, the move was very light. Anything that didn't fit inside the car was left behind (the Martin guitar fit!). Jim always had at least one dog and upon arrival in Philomath, Jim adopted his most beloved dog "Bernie 3" to help ground him in his new home. From 1998 until 2025, Jim was proud to serve for Oregon State University as the James R. Welty Professor in Thermal-Fluid Sciences. Jim was part of the 25 Year Club at OSU, having never really considered retiring, because he enjoyed his research and teaching at OSU very much. Jim was passionate about publishing his own research and reviewing the work of his peers. Over the course of his career, he acted as an editor for both the Journal of Heat Transfer and Journal of Fluids Engineering. He was also a longtime contributor to ASME. Jim married his wife Heather in 2012. They sold his property in Philomath and bought a beautiful home in Corvallis Oregon where they lived with his three step-children. Jim became a father to his namesake son, James "Preston" Liburdy, a few years later. Even with his new parenting duties, Jim forged ahead with research and publications. In 2021 he published an online textbook for engineering students titled Intermediate Fluid Mechanics. Jim loved baseball and was a longtime fan of the New York Yankees. He grew up playing ball with neighbor children in New York and was a catcher for his high school team. Of late, Jim sometimes umpired for local youth games. He also volunteered as a Corvallis Little League assistant coach for both his step-son and son's CLL teams. On the morning of Jan 28th, Jim died at home in his sleep after a 10 month battle with metastatic prostate cancer. Jim is survived by his wife Heather Johnson Liburdy, his three step-children, Leif and Marla and Kohl Linvog, his son James P. Liburdy, his brother Robert Liburdy, and his niece Toni Arauza.

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Jim Liburdy

April 16, 1949 - January 28, 2025