Sarah Elfreth: “this past weekend, Howard County lost a giant: former county executive, Dr. Ed Cochran. A chemist by trade, he was a…”

“this past weekend, Howard County lost a giant: former county executive, Dr. Ed Cochran. A chemist by trade, he was a pioneer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory where he contributed to our national security, but he was also a pioneer of our community. As a member of the Howard County Board of Education, he worked to help end segregation in our schools. A scholar at heart, Dr. Cochran was instrumental in the founding of Howard Community College. As county executive, he took our county from rural to modern and laid the foundation for many parts of Howard County's government that we now take for granted. His life and legacy will be felt deeply from the scientific innovation he laid the groundwork for at APL to the next generation of young minds and leaders at Howard County public schools and Howard County Community College. We are all better off because of Dr. Cochran's unwavering spirit of innovation and inquiry. My thoughts are with his six children, his 23 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren during this difficult time.”