Burlington’s very own rocket scientist, Dr. Edward Stone, passed away earlier this month at the age of 88.
He was awarded SCC’s highest honor, the Southeastern Community College Distinguished Alumnus in 1997. As a matter of fact, he was our first!
Dr. Stone’s career spans six decades and includes stints with NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and CalTech. He was the principal investigator on a number of NASA missions and led the development of a new generation of land-based giant telescopes.
Dr. Stone credits a small scholarship he received at then-Burlington Junior College for helping set the trajectory of his life and career. That continuation scholarship allowed him to transfer to the University of Chicago to study physics. In an effort to pay forward the opportunity he received all those years ago, he established the Dr. Edward C. Stone STEM Scholarship. Through his generous donations over the years, the scholarship has grown, helping numerous high-achieving SCC students continue their STEM education after leaving SCC.
Thank you, Dr. Stone for showing us that sometimes when you aim for the stars, you actually get there.
Learn more about Dr. Stone
We featured Dr. Stone in our Fall 2010 edition of the Vision publication.
He also stopped by the SCC Foundation office in 2014 to share a few stories.
You can also read more about his professional career, accomplishments, and contributions to science.
