Education
University
Stelson graduated from University in 1949, 1950, and 1952.
University
Stelson graduated from University in 1949, 1950, and 1952.
He was the Vice President for Research at the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1974 to 1988 and Executive Vice President (Provost) of the Institute from 1988 until 1990 when he left Georgia Technical to become a founding administrator at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Stelson also served as the interim director of the Georgia Technical Research Institute from 1975 to 1976. He took a leave of absence from Georgia Technical to serve as Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Solar Energy for the Carter Administration from 1980 to 1984.
Stelson eventually became head of "s Civil Engineering department.
In 1967, the Silver Bridge failed, and National Broadcasting Company News hired Stelson to inspect the pieces days later. His more detailed findings were eventually published in Popular Science.
Stelson was the Vice President for Research at the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1974 to 1988, where he emphasized the importance of basic research, applied research, and academics, given that the relative merits of each formed somewhat of a longstanding cultural war at the school. An increased focus on research activities allowed more funding for academics, which allowed the school"s ranking to start a long and continuing rise from the 20s.
Stelson simultaneously served as the interim director of the Georgia Technical Research Institute from 1975 to 1976, during which time he reorganized the station into eight semi-autonomous laboratories in order to allow each to develop a specialization and clientele, a model it retains (with slight modifications) to this day.
Stelson served on the board of the Message Telecommunications Service Systems Corporation from 1979 until at least 1994. He took a leave of absence from Georgia Technical to serve as Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Solar Energy for the Carter Administration from 1980 to 1984. From 1988 to 1990, Stelson was the Executive Vice President (Provost) of the Institute.
Stelson had hoped to become the next president of Georgia Technical, but John Patrick Crecine was selected instead.
Under Crecine, Stelson helped with a dramatic and controversial reorganization of Georgia Technical into five colleges. During Stelson"s tenure at Georgia Technical, annual research spending grew from $8 million in 1974 ($38,385,965 today) to $122 million in 1990 ($220,973,510 today).
In 1990, Stelson left Georgia Technical to become a founding administrator (Vice President for Research and Development) at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Stelson held that position until 1994, whereupon he became an independent engineering consultant.
He died on November 13, 2005 from complications from brain surgery.