The Linda Hall Library is pleased to announce the Jerome Pearson Fellowship in Aerospace History, made possible by a generous gift from Mary and Alan Atterbury.

Jerome Pearson, a Kansas City native and Center High School alumnus, was best known as one of the inventors of the space elevator. Pearson received his bachelor's degree in engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and his master’s degree in geology from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

Space pioneer Jerome Pearson holding rendering of space elevator concept. Photo credit; Wade Spees for the Washington Post

After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, Pearson joined the NASA Langley and Ames research centers as an aerospace engineer during the Apollo program. He went on to develop aircraft and spacecraft technology for the U.S. Air Force, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA,) and NASA, and eventually founded Star Technology and Research Inc. an aerospace research and development firm, where he served as president until his passing in January of 2021.

The Jerome Pearson Fellowship in Aerospace History, established by Pearson’s sister and brother-in-law Mary and Alan Atterbury, honors its namesake’s legacy and dedication to aerospace engineering. The Pearson Fellowship will provide one or two months of funding to a postdoctoral scholar conducting research related to any aspect of aerospace history, including, but not limited to: engineering, physics, astronomy, astrophysics, and other disciplines related to space travel and exploration. The Pearson fellow will conduct research on-site in Kansas City and receive a stipend of $4,200/month.

Linda Hall Library is looking forward to accepting applications for this new research opportunity this fall as part of our 2023-24 application cycle. Learn more about Linda Hall Library’s fellowship program here.