Dr. Ronald F. Elsner Memorial Scholarship
Ron was born in Chicago, Illinois and at an early age developed a love of outer space, science, and mathematics. After serving in the army as an engineer, Ron resumed his education graduating from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) with a doctorate in theoretical physics and completing his post-doctoral work at Cornell University in 1978.
In 1978, Ron was hired as an astrophysicist for NASA at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where he would work for 41 years until his retirement in 2019. He predominantly focused on the development and subsequently the analysis of data from the Chandra X-Ray Telescope, publishing over 250 scientific papers.
Ron routinely shared educational resources with teachers including his daughter and volunteered for NASA community outreach programs to spread interest in science and mathematics with school age children. This carried over into his personal life where he enjoyed discussing the latest astronomical discoveries and theories with his son and visiting the Space & Rocket Center with his family, especially his grandchildren.
Ron passed away in September 2025. His children and spouse could think of no better way to preserve his memory than a scholarship to fund attendance at Space Camp to support and grow the love of outer space, NASA, and science in our next generation of future astronauts and scientists.
Astra sunt futura nostra (The stars are our future).