William Ellis, former chief scientist at the Raytheon Co., died Oct. 11, 2016, at the age of 76.
Ellis graduated from Clemson in 1962, and earned a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton in 1967. He then worked on fusion energy at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
In the 1980s, Ellis was an associate director at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., where he worked on technologies such as GPS. In 1989, President George H.W. Bush gave him the Presidential Senior Executive Service Award.
In 1991, Ellis moved to New York City, where he became vice president and chief scientist at Raytheon, and taught physics at Pace University. He ran five New York City marathons and collected American Indian pottery, which he donated to the Smithsonian. He was active in his community and the Episcopal Church.
Ellis is survived by his wife, Carol, and two sons.
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