Dear Mirna,

Greeting from Lilith, the managing editor for the journal Corrosion and Materials

Degradation. I don't want to bother you during this difficult time, but I still want to write this letter.

I am deeply sorry for the loss of your beloved Digby. Please take care. Your partner was such a special person. They will live in our heart forever. Digby was always so nice and generous to help others. Digby's contribution to corrosion field will be remembered forever. I will try my best to help publish Digby's paper "Modeling Crack Initiation in BWR and PWR Primary Coolant Circuits It is". under revision. Without Digby's support, our journal would not be what it is today.

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/…

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/…

https://www.mdpi.com/2624-555…

https://www.mdpi.com/2624-555…

https://www.mdpi.com/2624-555…

Take care.

Kind regards,

Lilith

Ms. Lilith Wu

Managing Editor

Corrosion and Materials Degradation (CMD)

Dear Professor Digby,

I have written you many, many emails over the years, but this letter—this one is different. I want to reminisce about the respect and gratitude I hold for you. My heart is full of love and respect, and I hope, wherever you are, you can hear this voice.

Do you remember our first meeting? In the lobby of the Feeling Hotel, we sat down and I was introducing my handmade electrodes—the lab version of lollipops! And then—oh, that clumsy moment when I was seeing you off, I let the elevator doors bite you! Yet you never minded. Back then, I was just a wide-eyed graduate student. Now, four years after completing my Ph.D., I look back and realize how much we went through together—visa struggles, the pandemic, job search… Through it all, I have been endlessly grateful and honored to be your student, and also, your friend.

There’s an old Chinese saying: "The best influence is gentle, silent, and imperceptible—like rain nourishing the earth." That was you. Your diligence, your kindness, your unwavering dedication to scientific research—they shaped me as a student and continue to guide me in my career as a lecturer.

Dear professor Digby, my heart holds so many treasured memories of you. Words could never capture them all. But I know this: from now on, you will be the sky above me, the earth beneath me, the vast ocean, the towering mountain, the steadfast tree, the eternal stars—always shining, always with me.

With love,

Tianyu