Joe Burns

Joe Burns passed away on February 26th, after succumbing to Leukemia. He was surrounded by his brothers, nephews, children and friends. Joe was born in 1941 to Genevieve and John Burns in Queens, New York, the fourth of five boys.

Joe was raised in the rural outskirts of Cold Spring, NY. He graduated valedictorian from St. Patrick's High School in Newburgh, New York.  Without a great deal of money and four other sons to support, his father and mother told the boys they could go to any college they wanted, but it had to be free. Joe applied to Webb Institute, a small Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering school on Long Island. When he was accepted, his father said, "well, Joe, it looks like you're going to be a Naval Architect."  After graduating in '62, Joe moved to Ithaca to begin work on a Ph.D in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at Cornell. His older brother Bob had just graduated from the Agriculture School and his brother Steve was completing his Ph.D in Materials Science in the Engineering College. For a number of years Steve, Joe and a few other grad students lived in a house on Brandon Place where they studied, partied, cooked, explored Ithaca, and where Joe met his future wife, Judy Klein, a graduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences. In the summer of '68, the Brandon Place crew rented a house on the east shore of Cayuga Lake. The lake left such an impact on Joe and Judy that they decided to make Ithaca their home. After completing his Ph.D in 1966, Joe joined the Cornell faculty and then spent a year as a post-doc at the NASA Goddard Flight Center in Maryland. A year later, when the couple returned to Ithaca, they started their search for a permanent home on Cayuga Lake.

Joe spent 53 years at Cornell, teaching undergraduate courses in mechanics, applied mathematics, astronomy and physics; and graduate level seminars on celestial mechanics, mechanics of the solar system, classical mechanics and applied mathematics. He was Cornell's Vice Provost for Physical Sciences and Engineering between 2003-2007. He served as Dean of the University Faculty from 2012-2015.

Over the course of his career, Joe and Judy spent sabbatical leaves in a variety of interesting places. He was a visiting Professor of Astronomy during 1982-83 at the University of California-Berkeley, and visited the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona in 1989-90. He attended the Kavli Institute (UCSB) in Spring 2008 and was at the Isaac Newton Institute (U. Cambridge) in Fall 2009. He and Judy also spent time in Moscow (1973), Prague (1973), and Paris (1979, 1984).

Joe was editor of the scientific journal, Icarus, from 1978-1997, replacing Carl Sagan.

Joe became the Irving Porter Church Professor of Engineering in 1995. When asked about his new title by a Cornell Daily Sun reporter, Joe responded, "There is really no difference, it just takes longer to write your name."

Joe and Judy collaborated on a variety of professional projects. Their exquisite exhibit of images of Saturn, which grew out of Joe’s role on the NASA-sponsored Cassini mission, was featured at the Johnson Art Museum at Cornell, the Museum of Natural History in New York City, and the Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.

Joe spent his free time with family, friends, students and colleagues. He loved entertaining and was a terrific cook. He skied in the winters, went swimming or sailing in the summers, and could frequently be found tinkering around the house.

A doting father to his two children, Joe relished learning about – and when appropriate, participating in - the big, small, and mundane things that took place in their lives. He was virtually inseparable from Judy throughout their 51-year marriage.

Joe will no doubt be celebrated for his contributions to celestial mechanics.  We know that he will be cherished for his character, compassion and fundamental decency.

Joe is survived by his daughter Caitlin, his son, Patrick, and his four brothers, Jack, Bob, Steve and Dennis.

There will be a celebration of Joe’s life in the Kendal at Ithaca Auditorium on March 22nd (Joe’s birthday) at 1:00pm

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Cancer Resource Center of Ithaca.